A man fined for starting a fire several days before the most destructive wildfire in South Carolina history has pleaded guilty and will pay $732. Marc Torchi, of Conway, admitted to not notifying officials of a burn and allowing a fire on his land to spread to the property of a neighbor. But he and his attorney, Paul Taylor, said he is not responsible for the larger wildfire that destroyed 76 homes and damaged nearly 100 others on South Carolina’s Grand Strand in April.

Residents in the Barefoot Resort area of Horry County may not have gotten all the information about last month’s wildfires from 911 calls, that may have been edited.

South Carolina residents who were forced from their homes by a wildfire want to know why it took officials so long to warn them. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Sunday that homeowners are asking why officials were caught by surprise by fires which had been raging for a day, and why they gave residents just minutes to evacuate.

A Grand Strand course that suffered damage from April’s wildfire will reopen next week. Officials at the Barefoot Resort & Golf said that a course designed by PGA Tour pro Davis Love III will open Monday.

Firefighters continuing to watch the nearly 20,000 acres burned in a wildfire near the South Carolina coast last month say an inch of rain wasn’t enough to extinguish the flames.

According to Scott Hawkins, Public Information Director for the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC), the North Myrtle Beach, SC area fire is now 100 percent contained.

As of 10:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 23, we have the latest facts and information on the Horry County wildfire.

The next wave of evacuations of North Myrtle Beach neighborhoods is under way as Horry County, regional and state units fight a wildfire that has scorched more than 15,000 acres. West Shore Drive is the latest area to be evacuated, Horry County Fire Rescue official Todd Cartner confirmed. Barefoot Resort and Pelican Bay subdivisions were evacuated earlier. The North Myrtle Beach municipal Web site indicates firefighters are still actively fighting the wildfire around Barefoot Resort. Re-entry to evacuated areas, though, could come as soon as 5 p.m. tonight, North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Director William Bailey said.

State Forester Gene Kodama has issued a ban on outdoor burning in all SC counties. The ban prohibits all outdoor burning in unincorporated areas of the state.

Gov. Mark Sanford has declared a state of emergency for the South Carolina county where a fire has burned thousands of acres near one of the state’s busiest tourist areas.

North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley addresses the media on the status of the wildfire in Horry County.

Firefighters are battling a wildfire at South Carolina’s Jones Gap State Park that has burned more than 150 acres near the North Carolina state line. No injuries have been reported.

Police are looking for a man they say robbed a forestry building and then flung a cat several feet into the air as he escaped. Police in Henry County said they just obtained video from the incident that occurred in October at the Georgia Forestry Commission.