Wildfires Prompt Evacuation in the Carolinas as New Jersey Crews Battle Their Own Blaze

Smoke from the wildfires fill the sky in Polk County, N.C., on March 22, 2025. WLOS-TV via AP

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation Sunday in a North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene, and South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire in that state. Hundreds of miles north, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was battling a blaze in the Wharton State Forest.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8:20 p.m. Saturday for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina about 80 miles west of Charlotte.