Public Safety

The cause of the fire that killed four sisters Aug. 30 is still undetermined, according to a release from the sheriff’s office and fire marshal. Kalani, Kendall, Josephina and Sophia Melvin died when fire ripped through the home where the family was staying on North Colony Road near Chadbourn. A deputy and Chadbourn Rescue team were on scene in minutes, but the home was already engulfed. Neither the...

A family with a newborn baby is staying with relatives after a dryer caught fire at a Kelly’s Trail home Sunday night. Response from fire departments was delayed due to a blocked roadway onto the property. “Based on past experience we knew that would be impassable,” Acme Delco Riegelwood Fire Rescue Chief Steve Camlin said. The fire was at a home on Kelly’s Trail, off Swimming Hole Road...

Brief, heavy rains and high winds blasted through Columbus County today (Sunday), dropping more than three inches of rain in some areas. Meteorologist Christopher Cawley’s weather station on College Street in Whiteville showed 3.37 inches of rain at 4:30 p.m.  Wind in excess of 20 to 30 miles per hour were also reported. Similar accumulations were reported in Hallsboro and Lake Waccamaw as the fast moving storm blew...