ASHEVILLE, NC — Firefighters in North and South Carolina were battling multiple wind-driven wildfires Monday in rugged terrain that complicated containment efforts, officials said. Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said. “Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said.

Crews in the Carolinas are continuing to battle major wildfires that have scorched hundreds of acres, forced evacuations and destroyed homes. The Table Rock fire, which ignited Friday, has grown to more than 1,300 acres with no containment, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said in an update on X Sunday night Tractor crews and hand crews were constructing fire lines to contain the inferno, Pickens County said in an update on its website. Debris left behind by Hurricane Helene was hindering access to some areas. Another large wildfire is burning...