Chimney Sweep Near Me Folly Beach, SC

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — King tides and a rainy nor’easter just delivered a one-two punch to beaches along South Carolina’s coast.

Folly Beach, Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island all saw some of their sand sucked out into the stormy sea this past weekend. As sea levels in the region rise, erosion events like this one could become more common and severe.

An escarpment over 6 feet tall at Sullivan’s Island’s Thomson Park highlighted the most extreme erosion the island suffered from the 8-foot king tides and the weekend nor’easter.

The beach at the southern end of Sullivan’s Island, where the maritime forest has cropped up on accreted sand, remained wide and flat after the rains. A handful of beach walkers trekked up and down the shore, still wet from the weekend deluge. Aside from some water that had pooled at the town’s public access paths, it was business as usual on that part of the island.

Heading north, toward Breach Inlet, is where evidence of the king tides and heavy rains became apparent. The gradual slope that normally connects the dunes to the dry sandy beach sharply dropped off; the high tides created a substantial shelf, about 6 feet tall.

This section of the beach is where around 20,000 dump-trucks-worth of freshly dredged sand were placed, courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The supplemental sand was a beneficial use project. Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island both benefitted from the dredge spoil.

The town spent $646,000 last year moving a portion of that sand higher onto the beach and build up the dunes at Breach Inlet and behind Marshall Boulevard.

After the king tides and the rainy weekend, about half of that sand is gone, Sullivan’s Island Administrator Joe Henderson said.

“The dunes served their purpose,” he said.

The Isle of Palms didn’t fare as well.

Both the southern end of the island, near Breach Inlet, and the northern tip that encompasses the Wild Dunes neighborhoods and resort, were inundated by the high tides. The Ocean Club Villas, currently surrounded by scaffolding and blue netting, were hit hard by the king tides — waves reached the condominium’s foundation.

Some of the homes on the island, still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Erin, had piles of tan sandbags stacked behind them. City leaders spent $550,000 in August to deploy hundreds of these bags to Breach Inlet, and portions of Wild Dunes, including the Ocean Club Villas and homes on Beachwood East, a highly-eroded section of the island.

A handful of Ocean Boulevard properties were guarded by the sandbags, piled several feet high to block the waves from the property. Still, a tall shelf of sand dune could be seen behind the row of houses, along with exposed roots from the grass planted to stabilize the dunes.

Folly Beach in a warming world

Across South Carolina, island communities spend millions of dollars each year to renourish their beaches. Folly Beach last October wrapped up a $22 million renourishment project, Hilton Head Island is mid-way through a massive $47.5 million renourishment and Isle of Palms in May finished moving 120,000 cubic yards of sand to protect Wild Dunes Resort as part of a $750,000 project to harvest sand from a developing shoal.

The state Department of Environmental Services estimates that South Carolina’s coastal communities spent more than $400 million in federal, state and local funds on beach renourishment from 1979 to 2023. But as the climate changes and tides rise, beach towns likely will have to pay heftier sums to keep their shores sandy and the multi-million-dollar oceanfront homes protected.

So why keep paying for sand if it’s just going to wash away?

“ Because the public infrastructure and homes are not getting washed away,” said Nicole Elko, the president of the Folly Beach-based Elko Coastal Consulting. Elko works with Folly and other coastal communities on sand renourishment and erosion issues.

South Carolina’s sea islands naturally erode and accrete mass. Sand is generally carried southward from one island to the next, and additional sediment is built up from river mouths. Folly Beach is the exception to that rule.

Folly has to undergo regular renourishment that is (typically, but not always) paid for by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps built jetties just outside Charleston Harbor in the 19th century that disrupt the flow of sand to the island.

“Before this renourishment program began in the ’80s and ’90s, Folly didn't just lose houses, they lost entire roads,” Elko said. “ Our memories are short, but our policies are good, and we do this for a very important reason: to protect this treasure that we all love and enjoy — the beach. And in turn, the beach protects us.”

The last renourishment project on Folly Beach concluded in October 2024 to the tune of $22 million — all of which was covered by the Army Corps. While work is ongoing to determine how much sand was lost, Elko said this past weekend marked the largest erosion event since that project wrapped.

Even if the sand inevitably gets pulled away, the accounting still works out. One 2021 report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that every dollar spent on renourishment resulted in $1,200 in economic development generated by beach tourists, and $130 for federal, state and local tax coffers.

FOLLY BEACH — There’s an old Corky surfboard mounted on the wall in the new Folly Beach Museum, its fault lines and worn spots a testament to the storied surfing history encapsulated in the 200-square-foot room.

The small-yet-mighty museum opened Aug. 9 inside the Folly Beach Library and Community Center at 55 Center St. The renovated space, which used to be a porch, is showcasing the “Edge of America” surfing history exhibit packed with artifacts and memorabilia gathered from residents by the Folly Beach Historical Society.

The Corky surfboard was donated by longtime Folly Beach resident Foster Folsom, who remembers seeing the craftsman of that board, Corky Hart, working away at the little shop off Folly Beach Road he would pass by on his way home from James Island High School in the early 1960s.

“He was building the surfboards from start to finish,” Folsom said. “He was blowing the foam himself and doing the fiberglass and woodwork and the shaping.”

Folsom restored the 60-something-year-old board now on display after a local woman found it under her house.

“Like any living thing, each board has earned its scars,” said Folsom, who restores antique boards as a hobby. “I call them ‘memory boards’ because you can look at them and think about everything that happened while you were riding them.”

To him, Corky was the real beginning of surfing on Folly Beach.

Folsom also happened to cross paths with another significant figure in Folly Beach surfing history when he was 16 years old in 1963.

“The gist of the story is that I was near Smoak’s Float, which had a little stand right there on the Plaza boardwalk,” he said. “There was a fellow waxing a surfboard. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was going surfing. We grew up being told you couldn’t surf on Folly because the waves weren’t good. But then he took to the ocean, and it was the first time I actually saw someone surf on Folly.”

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - As Hurricane Erin continues its path well offshore, beachgoers in the Lowcountry are still feeling the storm’s impact, particularly in the form of dangerous rip currents and elevated surf along the coast.

While officials and meteorologists have warned swimmers to stay out of the water this week due to the high risk, that hasn’t stopped everyone from diving in, especially surfers.

“I came out to surf before work this morning because the waves are just awesome,” one surfer who was enjoying the early-morning swells at Folly Beach and identified herself only as “Casey,” said. “They don’t look too big, and I feel really good about it. There are a lot of people out here.”

Rip currents are narrow, fast-moving channels of water that pull swimmers away from shore, according to NOAA. While not inherently deadly, they can be extremely dangerous, especially for people unfamiliar with local beach conditions.

The surfer acknowledged the risk but said she thinks experienced surfers are often better equipped to handle it.

“I don’t think swimming is a great idea right now,” she said. “Surfing is a little bit different. Most surfers know their limits. Swimmers, especially visitors, might not know how the rips or jetties work here. I think that’s a good idea for people not to swim. I think experienced surfers might be good, but beginner surfers might think twice.”

recommends avoiding the ocean altogether during high rip current risk periods. But, for those who find themselves caught in one, the advice is clear:

The surfer, who regularly surfs at Folly Beach, says the key is understanding how the ocean moves.

“You’re not going to fight against a rip current,” she said. “Let it carry you down the beach. Eventually, you’ll reach a spot between swells and that’s your chance to come back in. But definitely don’t try to swim directly against it.”

The risk of rip currents from Erin is expected to remain high through the end of the week. Lifeguards and first responders are encouraging anyone planning a beach trip to check local flag warnings, surf advisories, and stay within designated swimming areas.

A photo ofFolly Beach as the waves rise from Hurricane Erin offshore. Aug.18, 2025. (WCIV)

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Though Charleston won't see the direct impact from Hurricane Erin, the waters off the coast aren't smooth sailing.

At Folly Beach, people enjoyed the sunny Monday. But the waters may turn a bit more aggressive by Tuesday, with the major Hurricane Erin forecasted to turn north, passing between the Outer Banks and Bermuda.

“I just want to mention to everybody, as we go through this entire week, beach hazards are going to be a problem," said Brian Haines, the National Weather Service Charleston’s meteorologist in charge.

Hazards include high surf and rip currents, coastal flooding, and beach erosion. And with this strong storm, the ocean can be a dangerous place – even over 500 miles away.

“When we talk about these bigger waves, it makes disorientation really easy," Haines said. "Swimming gets exponentially harder, and then as rip currents form along the coast, it becomes that much stronger because that wave energy is that much larger with this system.”

Rip currents can make the ocean a dangerous place, even for advanced swimmers.

“These are going to be really dangerous days just because we are not normally used to that here," Haines said. "And when you hop into that water, I think if you're not ready, it might catch you off guard. We definitely don't want that. We want people to stay safe this week.”

Experienced surfers in the area acknowledge the risk. The water conditions will remain top of mind if they choose to go out and hunt the waves.

Surfer Chris is from California and has been surfing since he was 13 years old.

“Erin is coming in as a hurricane, and it's bringing in a tropical swell, which is good for experienced surfers," Chris said. "But if you're not experienced, then it's a little dangerous because once you get up to five to eight and even eight to 12, it is more likely than not that you could possibly drown if you're not experienced.”

They say to be prepared before coming out to surf. There is now an app, Surfline, that allows riders to check the status of the waves before heading out to sea.

"We try to assess it even before we get the boards out of the truck," said Jay, another surfer on the beach. "We literally looked at the water first to see if it was even worth it or not. But even doing that, don't go set out to surf and definitely fall under your means. Don't try to do anything crazy.”

Another tip is to never surf alone, especially in these conditions.

“We ended up surfing all the way over there, and we didn't even know it," Jay said, "so I had to walk a couple of blocks just to get back to our other boards.”

Even those who have surfed their entire lives are taking precautions if they get caught in the waves.

"So if you can find the flatter spots where they're not really breaking as hard, you can try to get in there, find some white water that's really pushing you and just paddle hard," said Luke, a surfer from Virginia Beach. "That's about it. You gotta get out.”

While Hurricane Erin challenges the waves near Charleston County, safety will remain a top priority for all near the water.