At 2300 local time on April 22, 2009, the reported conditions at the North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, U.S.) Airport were calm winds with 10 mi (16 km) visibility and a temperature of 52 degrees F (11 degrees C). Some 90 minutes later, the winds were gusting to 16 kt, the visibility was 2.5 mi (4 km), and the temperature was 66 degrees F (19 degrees C). The dramatic change in conditions was not due to an approaching weather system. It was due to an approaching wildfire.
During that day, a fire which started on the outskirts of Conway, a small town west of Myrtle Beach, made a 5 mi (8 km) run to the east, driven by strong westerly winds gusting to 29 kt. In the evening, the winds died down and the fire was seemingly contained by major highways to east and northeast.
But around midnight, the fire blew up. Flames shot up over 200 ft (61 m) into the air. A massive convective column developed over the fire and extended 10,000 ft into the atmosphere. The fire was responsible for the dete…
