McMaster speaks at 2025 South Carolina Rural Summit
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Gov. Henry McMaster spoke at the 2025 South Carolina Rural Summit on Monday.
The summit brings community leaders, economic developers and state officials together to learn about ways to improve the rural parts of the state.
According to the State Department of Agriculture, there are nearly 23,000 farms in the state.
Following the summit, McMaster addressed the South Carolina wildfires during an off-topic.
“I think there were 102 of them [fires] on Saturday,” he said. “Several big ones were caused in Myrtle Beach and Georgetown County, but the report that I received so far, there’s been no buildings lost and no lives lost.”
During the off topic, McMaster said team South Carolina has been doing a great job.
Official: Carolina Forest wildfire could take days to be 100% contained
Smoky conditions are expected to continue as crews battle a massive wildfire in Carolina Forest.
The fires began over the weekend in several regions of South Carolina, impacting more than 4,000 acres across the state.
The cause of the fires, according to State Fire Marshal, are primarily due to dry, windy conditions.
McMaster declared a State of Emergency on Sunday to South Carolina’s ongoing response to wildfires burning across the state.
The governor said during the off-topic that the State of Emergency means that it makes it easier for us to work together.
CSRA faces heightened fire risk, crews on high alert
While the CSRA hasn’t been as badly affected as much of South Carolina by an outbreak of wildfires in recent days, we’ve seen our share.
“It just makes everything work quicker and when you have a team like ours in South Carolina that’s working together across counties, across cities, all departments and offices, you eliminate what could be little stop gaps,” he said.
Regarding possible evacuation orders, McMaster said it is always an option but that it is not necessary this time.
South Carolinians are encouraged to stay informed through official emergency sources and call 911 to report any immediate threats.
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