Crews work to suppress remaining hot spots as Covington Drive fire remains 75% contained

Drone picture of Carolina Forest wildfires (Credit: Luis Ruiz/WPDE)

(WPDE) — The Covington Drive wildfire remains at 75% contained measured at 2,059 acres as of Tuesday morning, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

On Monday, the additional rainfall across the fire was a bonus while crews continued to monitor spots of smoldering heat when scouting the area.

Firefighters will continue to work on mopping up the hot spots going into Tuesday around the interior line to reduce re-burn potential.

Mastication crews began work on Monday and will resume on Tuesday morning.

The southern perimeter of the fire is showing good progress at reducing the flammable vegetation turned to mulch in the 30-foot wide strip.

A buffer between houses and heat within the fireline increases the chance of structures surviving a wildfire without active defense being necessary.

This also provides firefighters with accessibility and a place to work if protection measures do become necessary.