Converse Area Fire Department

05/28/2026

UPDATE: The gas has been shut off and no residual gas is in the air. Residents and businesses may return. One lane of Floyd Rd will remain closed; use caution near crews. Piedmont Natural Gas (PNG) customers will receive additional instructions directly from PNG.

Original Post

We are aware that some residents outside the 1/2-mile evacuation area received the Wireless Emergency Alert for the evacuation notification.

After the alert was sent, we contacted FEMA-IPAWS/WEA for review. They advised that there were no errors with the message. In summary, their explanation was that WEA alerts are distributed through cellular networks, and some “overshoot” can occur based on cell tower coverage, phone settings, whether location services are enabled, older devices, and whether a phone supports device-based geo-fencing.

Alerts received well outside the intended area may occur for similar reasons, including “boomer” cell towers that reach phones outside the targeted area, phones with location services disabled, or devices that are not equipped to process device-based geo-fencing.

The evacuation area remains based on the shaded area shown on the attached map: If you are uncertain whether you are in this shaded area then please click on the following link: https://sartopo.com/m/JU2JR1J, search for your address and if you are outside of the shaded evacuation area, there is no need to evacuate.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.

05/28/2026

✅ No residual gas is in the air. Residents and businesses may return. One lane of Floyd Rd will remain closed; use caution near crews. Thank you for your continued support and patience.

🚨 PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT: NATURAL GAS LEAK 🚨

A natural gas leak has been reported near Floyd Rd and Floyd Rd Extension. Residents and individuals within approximately a 1/2-mile radius are advised to take action immediately.

Please calmly evacuate the area now.

This is an active response situation. Please follow all instructions from emergency personnel on scene.

Reunification Information:
Spartanburg High School is serving as the reunification point for individuals leaving their homes.

A second alert will be issued once it is safe to return to the area.

Stay safe and share this information to help notify others in the affected area.

05/10/2026

To all the extraordinary mothers in our lives and community, may today bring love and celebration that fuels your heart and motivates you!!

05/08/2026

Congratulations to Sierra Scruggs on successfully completing her probationary period. This achievement requires hard work and determination. We are proud of her accomplishments and anticipate her future success.

05/01/2026

Converse Fire Department is very pleased to announce that we were one of the fire departments selected to receive a 2026 V-SAFE Grant. The grant will be used to further our work in helping to serve our community. Thank you to South Carolina State Fire for this opportunity. We are very appreciative!!!

2026 V-SAFE Grant Awards Announced! For more information: https://bit.ly/424nLwr

04/28/2026

📣 The Burn Ban will be lifted as of tomorrow morning (April 29th) at 7am! Please still use caution when burning outdoors. 📣

SCFC TO LIFT BURNING BAN FOR 12 UPSTATE COUNTIES WEDNESDAY

The South Carolina Forestry Commission will lift the State Forester's Burning Ban for 12 counties in the Piedmont region of the state, effective at 7 a.m., Wednesday, April 29.
The counties coming off the burning ban are Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union and York (see map).
READ THE FULL RELEASE: scfc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Advisory-BurningBanToBeLiftedFor12Counties-20260428.pdf

04/27/2026

🚫🚫 Just a reminder … The Statewide Burn Ban is STILL in effect until further notice. The rain over the weekend wasn’t significant enough to lift the ban. 🚫🚫

The statewide burning ban remains in effect. Despite some scattered areas in the northern Midlands receiving up to a half-inch or slightly more Saturday, most of the state received no measurable or effectual rainfall.
A widespread precipitation deficit of ~20 inches continues to intensify the ongoing drought, and generally, heavily depleted subsoils require many weeks of consistent, slow-soaking rain to recover. While rising relative humidities and decreasing winds may ultimately prompt the lifting of the burning ban, fire danger will still be elevated for some time because of drought conditions.
Please be advised that outdoor burning, save for grill cooking and small/permanent pit fires, is still prohibited by law at this time. The ban will stay in effect until further notice, which will come in the form of an official announcement from the Forestry Commission.
(Graphic: USGS 48-hour precipitation data, April 26, 2026)

04/18/2026

Just a reminder!!!

The burning ban remains in effect across South Carolina.
Dry conditions, gusty winds, and low humidity are keeping wildfire risk high across the state. The South Carolina Forestry Commission has issued a State Forester’s Burning Ban until further notice.

A State Forester’s Burning Ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, prescribed burning, campfires, bonfires, and other recreational fires in all unincorporated areas of the state.

-Get the latest wildfire updates: https://www.scfc.gov/
-Learn how to prepare: https://www.ready.gov/wildfires
-Follow your local U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) for weather updates

04/16/2026

🚫🚫🚫 STATEWIDE BURNING BAN effective Friday (4/17) @ 7am!!! Please be advised! This ban prohibits ALL outdoor burning!! 🚫🚫🚫

SC Forestry Commission to issue statewide burning ban; restriction on all outdoor burning goes into effect at 7 a.m. Friday

COLUMBIA—The South Carolina Forestry Commission is issuing a State Forester’s Burning Ban for all counties, effective at 7 a.m. Friday, April 17.

A State Forester’s Burning Ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, prescribed burning, campfires, bonfires and other recreational fires in all unincorporated areas of the state.

Forestry Commission officials cite a particularly dangerous mix of elevated wildfire risk factors through the weekend that warrant limiting all ignitions in the interest of public safety.

Rapidly escalating drought conditions across the state, a critical decrease in relative humidities over the next several days and gusty winds that are expected to accompany an approaching cold front will combine to create extreme fire danger.

"When it’s this dry – energy release component values are at high-to-critical levels – we’re just as likely, if not more, to see wildfires that are fuel-driven rather than wind-driven. Add the other volatile conditions of increased wind and lower relative humidity, and it becomes an especially precarious situation,” said SCFC Fire Chief Darryl Jones. "These conditions not only increase the likelihood of wildfires igniting easily and spreading rapidly, but would also make them more difficult for firefighters to control.”

While the ban does not apply to fires used for the preparation of food or fires used in appropriate enclosures (portable outdoor fireplaces, chimineas or permanent fire pits constructed of stone, masonry, metal or other noncombustible material that conforms with all applicable South Carolina fire codes), Forestry Commission officials urge the utmost caution burning outdoors under these exemptions.

Likewise, citizens should exercise extreme vigilance operating any equipment that could create sparks, avoid parking on dry grass and refrain from using fireworks.

The ban will stay in effect until further notice, which will come in the form of an official announcement from the Forestry Commission.

Shareable release:https://www.scfc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Advisory-StateForestersBurningBan-20260416.pdf

04/09/2026

Forestry Commission to lift Red Flag Fire Alert for remaining counties
COLUMBIA—The South Carolina Forestry Commission is lifting the Red Flag Fire Alert for counties in the Piedmont region of the state as well as Aiken and Barnwell counties, effective at 6 a.m. Friday, April 10.

The weather conditions that prompted the alert to remain in effect for these 21 counties Thursday, mainly low relative humidity and stronger-than-normal winds, are expected to improve throughout the weekend, beginning Friday.

Although the Forestry Commission is lifting its Red Flag Fire Alert, agency officials still urge extreme vigilance when burning outdoors; the lack of appreciable rain and worsening drought are expected to persist at least through April.

State law requires anyone planning to burn outdoors (outside of city limits) to notify the Forestry Commission in advance and take the proper precautions, including:
× clearing a firebreak around the burn area;
× having water and/or tools on standby to keep the fire contained;
× never leaving the burn unattended, staying with the fire until it is completely out, preferably with water.

Anyone who burns outdoors and allows their fire(s) to escape will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Two types of public outdoor burning are permitted in South Carolina:

-Residential yard debris burning
State law requires citizens who live in unincorporated areas to notify the Forestry Commission before burning outdoors. In most cases, the law applies to burning leaves, limbs and branches that people clean up from their yards. Citizens who do live in city/town limits must still abide by any burning ordinances in their local jurisdictions. Citizens can make notification online by visiting scfc.gov/notify or by calling the toll-free notification number for the county in which they live, found here: scfc.gov/protection/fire-burning/how-tonotify/.

-Prescribed burning
State law requires that you notify the Forestry Commission before burning or forestry, wildlife management or agricultural purposes. This includes burning for wildfire hazard reduction, brush control, endangered species management, wildlife habitat improvement, plant disease control, crop residue removal and preparation of land for planting trees or agricultural crops. All burning for forestry, wildlife and agriculture must comply with SC Smoke Management Guidelines. To make notification, regardless of county, please call (800) 777-3473.