Myrtle Beach, SC area wildfire 100% contained. How long has it been burning?
The Covington Drive Wildfire in the Carolina Forest area is fully contained over two months after the massive fire started.
The 2,059 acre wildfire began burning on March 1 and threatened hundreds of homes in the beginning. As of May 21, the fire is 100% contained, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
The fire has been “smoldering” since March 6 and has had many flare-ups since, The Sun News reported. Recent rain helped to extinguish the hot spots.
When the fire began at the beginning of March, the Myrtle Beach area was dealing with dry and windy conditions that encouraged the fire to grow.
The fire inched close to people’s homes, stopping only feet away on certain streets, The Sun News reported. While no houses burned down and no one was killed, the fire damaged many homes. The heat melted the siding off of certain homes and smoke blighted houses, making its way into airway systems and sinking into drywall.
Hundreds of people were evacuated the first few days as the fire threatened to overtake neighborhoods.
Alexandra Bialousow allegedly started the wildfire when flames from her backyard fire pit spread to the nearby brush, The Sun News reported. Her lawyer Jonny McCoy alleges this is false and she has been made into a scapegoat. She was arrested on March 6.
It is not yet known how much it cost to put out the fire. Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov said she had to wait until the fire was extinguished to give out estimates.
Firefighters from over 30 fire departments across the state came to help control the Covington Drive Wildfire.
