RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina's governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire. The No rth Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8:20 p.m. Saturday for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina about 80 miles west of Charlotte. Wildfires burn across Piedmont Triad in midst of statewide burn ban Two wildfires over 2,900 acres in Polk County are uncontained while another at 152 acres is 50 percent contained. The Black Cove fire has burned 1,239 acres as of Sunday. The Deep Woods fire burned 1,713 acres as of Sunday, officials said. Photo from Canton Fire Department “Visibility in area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked; if you do not leave now, you could be trapped, injured, or killed,” the agency said in a social media post. Officials said there was a mandatory evacuation for 7265-5079 Holbert Cove Rd and all properties on Fox Paw Lane in Polk County. The public safety department said a shelter had been established in Columbus, North Carolina. The North Carolina Forest Service's online wildfire public viewer indicated three active fires in Polk County, with the two largest spanning between 1.7 square miles to 1.9 square miles. Photo courtesy: Green Valley Volunteer Fire Department in Polk County Due to multiple wildfires in the area, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality issued a "Code Red" (UNHEALTHY) alert for Polk County and a "Code Orange" (UNHEALTHY for SENSITIVE GROUPS) for Rutherford County. Other fires were active in nearby Burke County with 160 acres and in Stokes County at 276 acres on the northern border with Virginia. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Saturday as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started the previous day in an area within the Blue Ridge Mountains. “As this wildfire continues to spread, the State of Emergency allows us to mobilize resources quickly and ensure our firefighters have the support they need to protect lives and property,” McMaster said in a statement that reinforced a statewide outdoor burning ban issued Friday by the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Local fire officials called for voluntary evacuations Saturday of some residents near Table Rock Mountain, the forestry commission said in a social media post. The Pickens County Sheriff's Office posted an update late Saturday saying crews had ceased operations and would resume Sunday morning with ground personnel and machinery and assistance from helicopters and air tankers. The fire was about 110 acres and the public was asked to avoid state Highway 11. North Carolina's western region already had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Among the extensive damage, flooding washed away more than a mile of eastbound lanes on Interstate 40 leading to eastern Tennessee and remained partially closed to traffic until March. The hurricane damaged or impacted 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads and damaged 7,000 private roads, bridges and culverts in North Carolina. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service, meanwhile, has been battling a wildfire that broke out in the Wharton State Forest on Saturday. The fire had consumed about 2.7 square miles (7 square kilometers) as of early Sunday morning. Firefighters had contained about half of the blaze according to an 8 a.m. update on the service's Facebook page. Emergency officials said they have evacuated two campgrounds in the park. Eighteen buildings were near the fire but the flames were moving away from them and no structures had been evacuated. The cause of the fire is under investigation. ...read more read less