2:13
WYFF identified the victims as anchor Mike McCormick and photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer, who were covering the impact of the heavy rain in the area.
The ground in the area is saturated from all the recent rainfall, Tryon Fire Chief Geoff Tennant said in a press conference Monday afternoon.
It appears that the vehicle was in motion when the tree became uprooted and fell in excess of 30 feet, crashing on top of it, Tennant said.
WYFF News 4 anchor Mike McCormick and WYFF News 4 photojournalist Aaron Smeltzer died Monday when a tree fell on their SUV. https://t.co/VZZKA6K6qq All of us at WYFF News 4 are grieving. We are a family. pic.twitter.com/IQmZ6prUIH
— WYFF News 4 (@wyffnews4) May 28, 2018
Tennant had just done an interview with McCormick 10 minutes before the fire department got the call for a downed tree, he said.
Officials are warning citizens to consider evacuating the area due to the unstable ground, Tennant said. The rain forecast from the approaching subtropical storm Alberto could cause the terrain to become even more unstable.
The highway has now been shut down between Thompson Road in Saluda and Harmon Field Road in Tyron. Officials have warned citizens to avoid the area \"because travel has become dangerous.\"
In addition, flash flood watches have been issued for the area, officials said.
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