Crews battle US wildfires amid dry and gusty conditions

Crews have battled wildfires in North and South Carolina amid dry conditions and gusty winds as residents were forced to leave in some areas.

The National Weather Service warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very low relative humidity.

In South Carolina, where more than 175 fires burned 17 square kilometres, Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort, and a statewide burning ban remained in effect.

Crews made progress containing a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, where residents had been ordered to evacuate several neighbourhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue.

Video showed some people running down the street as smoke filled the sky.

But by late Sunday afternoon, the fire department announced that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated Sunday evening that the blaze had burned 6.5 sq km with 30 per cent of it contained.

No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said.

In North Carolina, the US Forest Service said fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests across the state on Sunday.

The largest, about 162 hectares, was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 80km east of Charlotte.

The Forest Service said on Sunday afternoon that it had made progress on the fire, reaching about one-third containment.

The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there.

The evacuations remained in effect on Sunday.

That fire has burned about 200ha as of late Sunday and was uncontained, according to the Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshal's office.

The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said.

Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.