RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — If you live or travel through southeast Richland County — through Hopkins, Gadsden and Eastover, and near Congaree National Park — you may experience patches of smoke drifting in the area. That’s because the Richland County Conservation Commission has scheduled a series of controlled burns in the Old Bluff Road area, weather permitting, beginning Thursday, March 26, through Friday, April 3.
The controlled burns will begin in early morning and end at sundown and will be conducted under permits issued by the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC), following strict safety and weather guidelines.
SCFC placed the entire state under a Red Flag Fire Alert on Tuesday, March 24, because conditions are ripe for the elevated risk of wildfires. While the alert does not ban outdoor burning, it strongly encourages citizens to postpone ant outdoor burning until further notice…