Firefighters gaining upper hand after more than 175 fires erupt in the Carolinas

After a rash of wildfires broke out over the weekend, scorching thousands of acres in South and North Carolina, firefighters on Monday reported making significant progress in extinguishing the blazes that prompted mass evacuations and threatened numerous homes, officials said.

At one point on Saturday and into Sunday, 175 wildfires erupted in South and North Carolina, fueled by high winds and extremely dry conditions, officials said. The fires prompted South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency on Sunday and issue a statewide burning ban.

On Monday, 10 new fires broke out, but were considered "manageable" by the South Carolina Forestry Commission, which said firefighters had either extinguished or contained most of the fires.

The largest fire to break out over the weekend was in the Carolina Forest in Horry County. As of Monday, the fire had burned over 2,000 acres and threatened the communities of Walkers Woods and Avalon, while spreading to the edge of Myrtle Beach, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

The Carolina Forest fire, which erupted Saturday amid wind gusts of 40 mph, was 30% contained on Monday, the commission said.

More than 400 firefighters -- aided by firefighting aircraft, including two South Carolina National Guard helicopter crews making water drops -- prevented the fire from spreading to homes in the area, officials said. While some homes were damaged, none have been destroyed, officials said.

No injuries were reported from any of the blazes.