SC Forestry Commission says Carolina Forest woman started a wildfire. Her lawyer disagrees
The South Carolina Forestry Commission arrested a Carolina Forest woman accused of starting a 2,059-acre wildfire in the Myrtle Beach area — however her lawyer said its claims are incorrect.
Alexandra Bialousow, 40, was taken into custody on March 6 for starting a fire without taking proper precautions and negligently allowing the fire to spread, The Sun News reported.
The SCFC alleges Bialousow started fire in her backyard fire pit without the correct equipment, such as “an appropriate water source” or gardening tools, to put out the fire, allowing it to grow.
Jonny McCoy, her lawyer, said those assertions are false.
McCoy says he has video of his client that shows her using a garden hose in attempt to put out the fire in the woods behind her home
“The warrants didn’t say that she wasn’t taking adequate steps to spray the fire, to hose the fire. The warrants say that she didn’t have a hose readily available,” McCoy said. “We’ve proved that she had gardening tools, that she had a shovel, a fire poker there to contain the fire.”
A Tiktok video McCoy posted shows pictures of Bialousow’s garden hose attached to her Covington Drive home and the fire tools she owns.
A spokesperson from the SCFC did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Sunday.
The Covington Drive wildfire started on March 1, and was still active as of March 16, but was70% contained, according to the SCFC. During the first weekend, the wildfire inched dangerously close to Carolina Forest houses. It caused parts of eight neighborhoods to evacuate, melted the siding off houses and caused smoke damage to many homes.
Fortunately, no homes or lives were lost to the fire.
Bialousow had a “very controlled” fire in her stone fire pit on March 1, McCoy said. She was burning wood that had already previously been set on fire along with other debris.
While she had started a fire during an active burn ban, her fire was allowed. State law says the burn ban does not apply to fires in permanent stone fire pits as long as there are tools to control the fire.
Bialousow’s arrest has upset her personal life, her lawyer said.
McCoy said the single mother’s reputation is ruined and her place of employment put her on leave until her misdemeanors are resolved. Her first court hearing is scheduled in mid-April.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
