from miles away Thursday . `` It 's better now , but the smoke was pretty much everywhere , '' said Chavdar Pavlov , a CNN iReport contributor who lives 20 miles from where the fires raged . `` At nighttime , it was like snow in the air , but it was n't snow ; it was ashes . '' The Horry County Council 's Brent Schultz said , `` The only way to describe this is tragic . '' At a Friday morning news conference , frustrated residents who had evacuated demanded to know when they could return home , yelling at Bob Grabowski of the Horry County Council . `` I just want to go home , '' one man cried out , prompting Grabowski to pause . `` Come on , '' others said . `` That will be addressed , '' he said . `` We 'll get with you on that . '' About 2,500 people were evacuated Thursday , authorities said , and more than 400 people were in shelters . No fatalities or injuries have been reported from the blaze . Horry County said the fire was about 40 percent contained by
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The cause of a South Carolina wildfire that has charred about 19,600 acres appears to be a yard debris fire , the head of the state 's Forestry Commission said Friday . Derek Boos sifts through the wreckage of his in-laws ' house Friday after a fire in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina . The blaze seems to have been caused by a yard debris fire in the Woodlawn subdivision , an unincorporated part of Horry County , halfway between Conway and North Myrtle Beach , South Carolina Forestry Commission Forest Protection Chief Darryl Jones said . The fire began Saturday and rekindled itself Wednesday evening , according to the Forestry Commission . Officials said about 70 homes had been destroyed in the county , which contains a stretch of popular tourist spots , including Myrtle Beach . About 100 other homes were damaged , Horry County officials said . The blaze left only charred rubble and the smoldering , skeletal remains of some houses , even as adjacent homes went untouched . The fire swallowed up pines and dry brush , sending a smoky gray smudge into the sky that could be seen for hours