Man charged in connection with Sand Ridge wildfire

A rural Dorchester County resident has been charged with starting the wildland fire that burned more than 1,200 acres in the Sand Ridge community last week. Investigation is still underway into the cause of the 2,400-acre fire near McClellanville.

Raymond Nelson, 59, of Thomas Road, Dorchester, was ticketed for one count of allowing fire to spread to the lands another, a violation subject to a $400 fine, according to the S.C. Forestry Commission.

Attempts to reach Nelson today were unsuccessful.

The Sand Ridge fire started in the Thomas Road community Thursday and swept through woodlands more than two miles into the Sand Ridge community. The McClellanville fire started Wednesday. The two fires are considered contained, or not spreading.

Rain set in over the weekend, helping to keep down the hot spots across the charred, smoking acres, but the danger is still there, forestry officials warn.

With the rain, the Sand Ridge fire might be declared controlled, or without flame or heat, by the end of the week, said Scott Hawkins of the S.C. Forestry Commission.

The rain is expected to persist most of the week, and wet conditions through two weeks, giving firefighters a needed break. But the long range climate forecast is for dry weather to continue with the possibility of drought conditions into the summer, said Mark Malsick, S.C. Climate Office severe weather liaison.

“(The fires) will continue to smolder in places, particularly in stump holes and vegetative materials below ground,” Hawkins said. Burned grounds can give way under foot where materials are still smoldering, he said.

The wildfire threat is expected to remain significant through May, forestry officials say. In early March, forestry commission law enforcement officers were told to aggressively enforce debris burn violations, Chief David West said in a letter to the S.C. Courts Administration, asking judges apply the stiffest penalties to persons who are convicted.

Enforcement was stepped up “due to recent cuts in state funding and the subsequent down-sizing of the agency” that reduce fire-fighting capability, the letter said.

Preventing wildfire damage in vulnerable areas

At home, use:

Within 30 feet of home:

30-100 feet from home:

100-200 feet from home: