HORRY COUNTY (WPDE) -- Horry County and state Forestry firefighters remain on the scene of a 350 acre wildfire that's been burning near the Carolina Forest area since just after noon Sunday.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission says overnight crews had a hard time establishing a fire line because of thick vegetation in the area. On the other hand, some areas are extremely wet and several bulldozers got stuck.
HCFR Public Information Officer Leslie Yancey says they received a call about the fire at 12:30 p.m. Sunday near the Avalon subdivision.
The Forestry Commission's spokesman, Russell Hubright, says as of 11 a.m. Monday, the fire is 60 percent contained. No homes are immediately threatened and no calls for evacuations have been made. For now, the fire is headed away from the Avalon community.
Monday afternoon crews continue to focus on cutting fire breaks near Highway 90 and International Drive using 11 bulldozers.
SC Forestry Spokesman Scott Hawkins told us Sunday, the fire is burning toward unused ground fuel from the Carolina Forest wildfire of 2009, that burned more than 20,000 acres. Hawkins says they'll likely be working on the fire for the "next couple of days."
The South Carolina Forestry Commission names wildfires, and this one is called the "Hornet Fire" because there are so many hornet nests and yellow jackets.
Several of the firefighters were stung Sunday.
Firefighters have spotted one bear as they worked the fire, and they're on the look out for snakes.
There is smoke in the area, but it's not as heavy as it was Sunday. Flames were not visible in the area where Forestry took us on the tour.
Click on the photo slideshow above to see a map created by the forestry commission that illustrates the location of the fire.
NewsChannel 15 will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
(This story courtesy WPDE NewsChannel 15 and CarolinaLive.com.)
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