A forest fire that officials say was sparked by a construction company burning debris or brush swept across about 100 acres Monday and forced the evacuation of 52 homes in the Avalon subdivision in Carolina Forest.
No injuries were reported, but a home and a pool house were damaged, Horry County Fire Rescue officials said.
Fewer than 20 homes remained evacuated Monday night.
Flames licked 25 to 30 feet above pine trees as emergency workers drove down Seneca Ridge Drive, Whetstone Lane and Stoney Falls Parkway between noon and 1 p.m. with bullhorns urging residents to flee.
"What was scary was the roar. ... It sounded like a jet," said John Schroeder, who left his Whetstone Lane home as the wind kicked up flames just across the street.
Bobby Lee Friar, an employee of Weaver Construction, was issued a citation for "allowing fire to escape," after an investigation by the S.C. Forestry Commission. The fine is $200, but penalties up to $460 could be levied.
"A construction crew was burning some brush or something, and it escaped," agency spokesman Ken Cabe said.
Friar could not be reached for comment.
Fire officials began getting calls about the fire about 10 a.m. Monday.
Residents, some with pets in tow, gathered at Carolina Forest Community Church as more than 50 firefighters worked throughout the day to contain the blaze.
One fire crew was caught in the massive white and gray plume of smoke when it shifted in the wind, and some were treated for smoke inhalation, said Capt. Eric Stanton, spokesman for county Fire Rescue.
By evening, crews still were fighting to keep the blaze from spreading.
The state forestry commission and Horry County Fire Rescue created "back fires" Monday night. The agencies used plows to dig a 3- to 4- feet-deep perimeter around the fire in the unburned wooded area. Fires then were started between the break and the areas already burned to help slow the burning process.
All residents of Whetstone Lane and Seneca Ridge Drive were allowed to return home by 9 p.m. Residents of Stoney Falls Parkway from the 1001 block and higher remained evacuated.
The community church and the Red Cross arranged for hotel accommodations for displaced residents Monday night at the Micro Motel on U.S. 501 at a rate of $15. Beazer Homes, which built the Avalon development, paid for a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn West for evacuated residents, Stanton said.
The majority of the homes that remained in the evacuation zone Monday night were unoccupied because they are summer homes or still are under construction, he said.
Avalon, part of one of the fastest growing areas in Horry County, contains more than 400 homes and is expanding.
Doug Weaver, who lives on Whetstone Lane, said he was talking to his mother on the telephone when he noticed ash falling outside the window.
He went outside and heard the evacuation order.
"I went in, grabbed the cat and threw her in the cat box," Weaver said. "I went out the front door, and the front yard was on fire."
Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority buses evacuated those who wanted a ride to the church where the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army cared for evacuees.
Horry County Environmental Services combed the neighborhood for pets that had not been evacuated. About 15 to 20 residents immediately went to the shelter.
Maryfrancis Mazzeo moved to Whetstone Lane from Connecticut two weeks ago.
She said she noticed smoke in the air and ashes on her driveway sometime before noon and thought someone in the area was burning trash.
Later, a police officer pounded on her door shouting, "Get out! Get out!"
"This is scary," Mazzeo said as she awaited news at the Red Cross shelter. "I don't want my new home to go up. What a way to start retirement, huh?"
A Salvation Army food truck fed Avalon residents hot dogs, fruit, crackers, water and soda while the cloud of smoke billowed on the horizon.
All children from the Avalon subdivision were held at school Monday afternoon until their parents could pick them up.
Lisa VanNote of Seneca Ridge Drive said she was at the bus stop waiting for her daughters to come home from Carolina Forest Elementary School when police told her that students from the subdivision were kept in the school's gym.
Jim Devine, who moved to the area four months ago, said the vinyl siding on his house on Stoney Falls was slightly melted.
He said it could have been worse.
"Nobody was hurt. Everybody saved their animals," Devine said. "I was just amazed at how everybody came together."
Distributed by the Associated Press
