Recent Rain Does Little to Ease South Carolina Drought

South Carolina’s Upstate region remains in drought conditions despite rain in recent days.

A new drought map issued by the state on Thursday finds Oconee, Pickens and Anderson counties still in severe drought conditions. More than a dozen other counties to the South and East are in moderate drought conditions.

About 10 counties in the southern part of the state were also added to the first stage of drought after being labeled normal in late October.

The drought conditions have fed wildfires around the Southeast. One of them is the Pinnacle Mountain Fire that burned more than 10,000 acres near Pickens. Authorities say the fire is more than 90 percent contained as of Saturday.