Man Pleads Guilty, Fined $732 In Horry County Wildfire

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.

By AP
Published: October 28, 2009

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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - 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.

Torchi, who requested a trial, said earlier he's been unfairly blamed.

Torchi says he called Horry County firefighters when his fire got out of control and firefighters thought they had completely put it out.