Large South Carolina wildfires contained as teens charged with starting blaze with cigarettes

PICKENS, S.C. (AP) — Two wildfires that started lose to each other in the South Carolina mountains and burned an area over half the size of Hilton Head Island are nearly contained, authorities said.

Four teens who did not fully extinguish their cigarettes while hiking have been charged with causing the largest Table Rock Mountain wildfire which started March 21, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

That fire and the Persimmon Ridge fire about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away burned about 25 square miles (64.5 square kilometers) during the 10 days they were out of control in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Rain this past weekend, coupled with more humid weather, helped firefighters finally get fire breaks built and check the entire area around the blaze for hot spots Wednesday, said Mike Brod, head of the federal team helping fight the fire.

“That was no small feat for sure. There was over 60 miles of fire perimeter,” Brod said.

No injuries were caused by the fire and no major structural damage was reported.

The arrests for starting the fire were made earlier this week, authorities said.

Four teens who were among seven hikers rescued off the mountain as the blaze started were charged with negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, the state Forestry Commission said. Arrest warrants said officers have evidence the teens were smoking cigarettes and did not properly extinguish them.

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The weekend rain and an additional downpour late Wednesday night were a huge help putting out the fires, but the danger is far from over.

Millions of downed trees from last fall’s Hurricane Helene remain to provide fuel to any new blaze and also impede efforts to fight fires, South Carolina Forester Scott Phillips said.

South Carolina firefighters fought nearly 400 wildfires in March. April is typically the worst month for wildfires and forecasters said the long term forecast has more hot and dry days to come.