How much did it cost to battle Carolina Forest wildfire? And who’ll pay for it?
Cost estimates of the Carolina Forest wildfire that burned more than 2,000 acres and caused the evacuation of several neighborhoods stretch into the millions.
Doug Wood, communications division director for the South Carolina Department of Forestry Commission, said that preliminary figures show that the state agency spent $2 million fighting the Covington Drive fire in the Myrtle Beach area.
Wood said that the number could go up as more information is gathered. There also is the possibility of federal funding that could help in cost, Wood said.
Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov and Horry County Fire Rescue spokesperson Tony Casey said Tuesday that there currently aren’t numbers regarding how much the county spent fighting the wildfire.
It took more than two months before fire crews were able to get the fire 100% contained. There were hundreds of county and state fire crews, as well as fire crews from Horry County cities and multiple departments from South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida, who battled the wildfire.
It is unclear if state and county officials will attempt recoup the costs from the Myrtle Beach area woman who was charged with allegedly started the wildfire in March.
Wood declined to comment on whether the state general counsel would request reimbursement from Alexandra Anna Bialousow, 40, who was charged by the South Carolina Forestry Commission with negligently allowing fire to spread to lands and violation of regulation of fires on certain lands.
Public records show that Bialousow lives on Covington Drive.
Witnesses reported seeing Bialousow intentionally start a fire in a backyard fire pit that was close to a tree line within Covington Lakes Subdivision on March 1.
The Covington Drive wildfire began that Saturday afternoon, spreading quickly and moving close to homes and backyards and resulted in evacuations. No houses or structures were destroyed from the fires and there have been no injuries.
However, there were many homes and properties that sustained some form of damage.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
