Stein urged residents to monitor emergency alerts and follow evacuation orders "if you need to leave your homes."Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

Firefighters in North and South Carolina are battling multiple wildfires fueled by debris from Hurricane Helene and an ongoing drought. The fires have prompted evacuations and air quality alerts, with containment efforts hampered by rough terrain,

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.