A woman accused of lighting a forest fire of more than 2,000 acres last week in South Carolina, threatening the lives and homes of hundreds, has been arrested and accused, authorities said Friday.
Alexandra Bialusow, 40, from Myrtle Beach, was arrested Thursday by negligence charges allowed to extend and begin a fire in forests, grasslands or other places without taking certain precautions, according to the Forest Commission of South Carolina.
The commission said the witnesses informed having seen Bialusow start a fire on Sunday in a fire well in the backyard near a tree line in the subdivision of Covington Lakes.
“According to the arrest warrant, the suspect” did not have an appropriate water source, “nor did he have any garden tool to control the fire, allowing the fire to extend to the land owned by Walker Woods Hoa,” the commission said in a statement.
That fire became the Covington Drive fire of Covington near Myrtle Beach, one of the greatest of the more than 175 forest fires that burned throughout the state during the last week, according to the officials.
Bialusow did not immediately respond to a comment request on Saturday.
Until Saturday afternoon, the Covington Drive fire was contained in 55%, according to the Forestry Commission. No important injuries have been reported for fires.
The abnormally dry conditions have fed forest fires that burned more than 4,000 acres throughout the state and caused evacuations, according to the Office of the Governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster.
McMaster declared an emergency in response to fires on Sunday.
“The dangerous conditions of forest fires require that a state prohibition of ardor remain in force until new notice,” he said in a statement. “Those who violate this prohibition will be subject to criminal prosecution.”
Neither the Governor’s Office nor the Myrtle Beach Police Department immediately responded to a request for comments on the Bialusow arrest.
Bialusow will appear before the court in Horry County on April 15. If it is convicted, each position entails a possible sentence of up to 30 days in prison or fines.
