Mobile Home Sales in Brittons Neck, SC

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - The community of Brittons Neck has seen serious flooding issues over the last several years, between rain events in 2015 and hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

Ricky Taylor, who lives in Brittons Neck, recalled scooping out water from his home as well as his father’s home when severe flooding appeared.

“I had to break down and cry because it was totaled,” said Taylor “It was exhausting to see my father. He was old and sick, so we had to find a place to stay. I had to find a place to stay.”

Schools and businesses have since closed due to the flooding, and residents have been forced to evacuate away from their homes. Throughout the years, flood damage remains in some homes in the area, growing stubborn mold through the walls and vents.

However, the community is getting down and dirty by planting trees to reduce flooding risk within the community.

The South Carolina Wildlife Federation partnered with residents on Saturday to reduce the severe flooding risk by planting 1,000 trees native to the area. Those include the Eastern Redbud and the Flowering Dogwood.

SC Wildlife says these trees will help by soaking up water and providing drainage.

“It’s a way to build the community up,” Taylor said. “Like I said there’s been a lot of logging around here now, cutting a lot of trees. We going to be needing trees to place the ones that were cut down.”

About a dozen people grabbed their shovels to planted trees near a road that still had flood damage.

Marvin Wooderry said he wants to see his childhood community recover from the flooding.

”Open the rivers up, Just make the water flow so it won’t affect us on the land,” he said. “It will help a lot, and we don’t have to move, I don’t have to move. I can stay right there where I am at for the rest of my life.”

The community will be planting the rest of the trees for the next three weekends.

Future plans include a new facility to help educate area residents as well as people from across the Southeast in sustainable agriculture, community resilience and outdoor recreation.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — People who live on East Bay Road in Marion County said they knew Tuesday's storm was bad because of the strong winds.

Some of them aren't surprised to learn that an EF-1 tornado touched down in their community.

The National Weather Service said the winds were about 100 miles per hour and that there was some minor damage to homes.

Officials added that the tornado then crossed the river and went into Horry County, but at that point, the winds had gone down and was about an EF-0 tornado.

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“I heard this roaring. Then I heard something went up against the window like it was hail. You know, I told my husband, I said it’s coming now. And I say get yourself together. And get some lights out because I know the lights are going to go out," said Margaret Norman.

Franklin and Margaret Norman have lived on East Bay Road for 25 years.

The couple's son said he saw it all.

"I saw that tree there came down. And the garbage can went way over there too. It was a pretty strong storm. And that was basically about it. But, I’m glad it’s over," said Daril Norman.

The family said the storm blew their furniture off their porch, a tarp from their water pump and dozens of trees fell over surrounding their home.

They said even though things appeared to be breaking loose all around them, they weren't scared.

“I’m so happy I don’t know what to do. I am still thanking the Lord," said Margaret Norman.

“I heard the hail hitting the window and that’s when I see the wind blow this way. So I thank the Lord that he didn’t come to the house and blow the housetop off," said Franklin Norman.

They said they heard the storm roaring through.

Marion County's emergency management didn't do an assessment because no property was damaged only timber.

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Some people in the Britton's Neck area of lower Marion County said they panicked when firefighters and Marion County Emergency Management crews showed up at their door Saturday urging them to evacuate following a massive fire.

Britton's Neck Fire Chief Wyman Watson said the fire burned about 700 to 800 acres of land.

“Flames was running 30 to 40 feet high. And the wind was blowing anywhere from 30 to 40 miles an hour and it was just traveling real fast," said Watson.

Melissa and Charles Dozier evacuated their home.

The married couple of 42 years said it was a pretty scary experience.

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“It was a tense situation. And looking at the fire as we saw it progressing, it was a real real serious situation. Now, if you were standing in the yard, you couldn’t tell really how bad it was. But if you got back out there on 908 and looked this way. You can see the fire up in the treetops," said Charles Dozier.

Watson said four fire stations in the county, along with the S.C. Forestry Commission worked to keep the fire from reaching the homes.

He said the Forestry Commission used seven plows to create fire breaks to keep it from jumping across Gresham Road.

“They stopped it within about 1,000 feet from the houses. If they hadn’t it would’ve been a chain reaction from one house to another house. You couldn’t see to drive down the west end of Gresham Road. That’s the reason we had to block all of that up. Because you cannot even see the highway. If anybody missed a step it would been out of control," said Watson.

Watson said they've turned the investigation of the fire over to the S.C. Forestry Commission because no homes or properties were damaged in the fire.

Charles and Melissa Dozier said they give thanks to Britton's Neck Fire and all of the other fire departments.

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They said the firefighters worked hard to keep the wildfire from spreading to their homes.

”The fire department put themselves in harm's way. And they had a lot of firetrucks on this road just in case. If I would’ve got here and got close to the structures. To keep the structures from burning," said Dozier.

Watson said they used more than 50,000 gallons of water between Saturday and Sunday to put out the fire.

He said they'll continue to monitor it for hot spots.

MARION, SC (WMBF) - A group of parents in Marion voiced their growing concerns to the Marion County School Board Tuesday night regarding Britton’s Neck Elementary.

The school is the only one in the area still closed after Hurricane Florence hit over three months ago.

During their November meeting, the school district made the decision to keep the school closed for the rest of the 2018-2019 school year.

A letter sent to parents cited safety issues and the impact of moving students again in the middle of the school year.

When WMBF News reached out to the school district last month, members said the results of air quality and other tests were under review to determine the best plan for the safety of the students. The tests were conducted inside the school on Oct. 23 and Oct. 31.

In one of the lab results from ABS Environmental, an asbestos removal company, they found evidence of mold growth in the media center and gym.

“This can’t be just a 2018-2019 decision because it goes further than that and this is our children’s education that we’re dealing with, so I want to know long term what is their plan,” parent Laura Holden said.

“It has been very emotional for a lot of parents, as well as myself,” Bonatia Self said.

Self’s son attends the school, now split between Easterling Primary School and Marion Intermediate. She echoed the same sentiments as the parents who spoke.

“They’re scared to go to school there. We feel like our children haven’t been treated fairly and taken out of their comfort zone,” Self said.

She said she came to Tuesday’s meeting to find out what officials are doing to get students back inside their home school.

“They constantly keep saying, ‘Well, we’ll bring these people in, we’re bringing these people in,’ but they’re not giving us any feedback as to what exactly they’re doing,” Self said.

After the comments, board members pointed out it's normal procedure to review the parent's comment and reply to the people who spoke individually.

Self admitted it wasn’t the answer she was looking for, but said she and other parents hope to get one soon and it’s one that will help get things back to normal.

“We feel like our kids are lacking, you know, as far as education getting the best of ... basically the bottom of the barrel,” Self said.

Copyright 2018 WMBF. All rights reserved.

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — A community hit hard by the climate crisis said lack of education and an uptick in commercial logging has left many of them leaving their homes behind when a natural disaster strikes.

That is until a reverend with a passion for environmental justice built what he believes is the solution for sustainability in this rural part of Marion County.

"Right now, I’m a believer. This is a plus, this is really gonna be a plus for us," said Johnny Graves, a Britton's Neck resident born and raised.

Anyone who travels on Highway 378 through Marion County might miss it.

Britton's Neck is a mostly Black unincorporated community with just over 2,500 people calling it home.

"I’m praying that we don’t have another hurricane because we’re gonna be in trouble," said Graves.

That number though, could decrease because of excessive flooding that residents say is due to major storms and commercial logging taking away trees to stop the water.

Graves watched what hurricanes Matthew and Florence did to his community, and said they have had to rebuild twice and many don't have the means to do it again which is putting their health at risk.

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"Many many many communities were flooding and when torrential rain takes place, people don’t know how or don’t have the resources to adequately clean the mold from their homes. So, we’re seeing an increase in respiratory problems," explained Reverend Leo Woodberry, the Executive Director of the Environmental Justice Training Center.

"I could go to Old Neck cemetery off of Highway 378 and see my ancestors’ gravesites going back to the 1800s," said Woodberry.

For Reverend Leo Woodberry, seeing this community wash away is not an option.

"This will show that communities can become more resilient, communities can actually move from surviving to thriving and we’re hoping to make this community sustainable and resilient as climate impacts grow," said Woodberry.

So, he opened the first Environmental Justice Training center in the South.

The 7.5-acre center will offer courses on sustainability and includes new technology like hydropannels, pollinator gardens and classes on how to hunt, fish, and grow crops.

“We really want people in the pee dee community to know that this community center is for you. It’s for strengthening your communities and helping your communities to strive and thrive into the 21st century," said Woodberry.

"Please, let’s get on board, get this running and we can make a difference," pleaded Graves.

The first training course will be held in June and will focus on creating small-scale agricultural businesses.