Myrtle Beach lawmaker seeks heavier punishments for public burning in aftermath of Carolina Forest wildfire
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A state lawmaker whose House district includes Carolina Forest wants to dramatically ramp up penalties for people convicted of starting fires on public lands.
State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said earlier this month he wanted an update to the 63-year-old law that right now only sets fines of between $200 and $500 and a maximum jail time of 30 days.
'Millions of dollars have been to fight this fire that was caused by debris burning,' McGinnis said March 9 as the 2,059-acre Covington Fire blaze continued to burn. 'I'm going to file a bill that gives this teeth so people think twice before they burn outside.'
McGinnis on Wednesday shared with News13 a draft version of the updated law, which sets fines of between $1,000 and $5,000 and a minimum one-year jail sentence for first offenses: Subsequent ones could bring fines of up to $25,000 and three years' imprisonment.
With more than 12.8 million acres of forestland statewide, officials say taking care of that land must be a shared responsibility. A 2023 Congressional Research Service paper said 89% of all wildfires between 2018 and 2022 were human-caused.
'Part of team South Carolina are it's people, and so when the governor and local folks do a burning ban, that is for a reason. And even if there's not a burning ban, you have to work with your fire department to make sure there's not something going on that you don't know about,' Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette told News13 on Saturday during a stop in Conway earlier this month.
State Forester Scott Phillips said he supports lawmakers revisiting penalties for people convicted of starting fires on public lands.
'The fines and fees that are on our tickets are very old, most of those originated in the 60s so it does deserve looking at, and we're looking forward to evaluating that with the General Assembly,' he said.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work, here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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