WALLACE — “We believe the fire started from a grass fire,” Marlboro County Fire Coordinator Keith Hughes said regarding a blaze that erupted Thursday on Grant Road in the Wallace area.
Hughes says the fire occurred near a vacant property.
“The fire spread to several vehicles present on the property, a tractor, and some damage was done to an outbuilding,” Hughes said, adding that all told roughly five acres were burned, but the home located on the property was spared from the flames.
“The Wallace Fire Department responded first and then the Brightsville and Bennettsville Fire Departments arrived along with the South Carolina Forestry Commission,” Hughes explained.
Following the incident, firefighters returned to the area when smoke was again reported.
“There was an empty bus on the property that was still hot and when the wind got to blowing the fire started back up — it was no big deal,” Hughes added.
It remains unclear what stoked the initial blaze, though Hughes says they are still working to determine the cause.
On Monday, Hughes said crews from Clio Rural, Blenheim Fire Department, and the Marlboro County Fire Service responded to a storage building that caught fire in Clio.
“A storage building behind a house on Church Street caught fire. An outbuilding and a car were damaged in that fire,” said Hughes, adding these incidents highlight the dangers even a small fire can pose during the county’s current dry environment.
A statewide burn ban placed across the state in response to the area’s recent high winds and dry foliage by the South Carolina Forestry Commission was lifted Monday, March 30, at 7 a.m.