7:00 am | Copters join fight against S.C. fire

STEVE LYTTLE

slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters are scheduled to join the battle today, as crews attempt to put out a fire at an old textile mill that has burned for four days and has caused the evacuation of nearly all residents of Great Falls, S.C.

The stubborn blaze has spread acrid fumes around the town, and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency in the Chester County community Thursday afternoon.

Sanford said he would supply whatever resources are needed to extinguish the flames and smoke from the old J.P. Stevens No. 3 building. That fire broke out about 6 a.m. Tuesday. Several times, firefighters thought they had put it out -- only to have flames and smoke break out again.

State officials have conducted a number of tests on air and water in the area and so far have not found major problems. But there are concerns that runoff from the debris could pollute the nearby Catawba River, which flows southward to Columbia and is a water source for many communities.

Today's plan is to bring in crews with backhoes, to knock down the walls of the old textile mill. In addition, the helicopters will drop water on "hot spots." By doing that, crews hope they will be able to halt the blaze and allow the estimated 2,000 evacuated people back into their homes.

Residents have been staying at a Red Cross-operated shelter in Great Falls High School and at motels and with family and friends.

The evacuations were ordered because of fears that fumes in the drifting smoke were causing health problems.

"It was a very distinctive acrid smell, a burning of the throat, a bitter taste in the mouth," S.C. National Guard Lt. Col. Greg Stidom told WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner.

Chester County officials have said burning plastic materials inside the building are suspected of causing the bad smell.

Read tomorrow's Charlotte Observer for more details on this developing story.