MEG KINNARD
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A year after the most destructive wildfire in South Carolina history, the state's forestry agency warned Monday that it might not be able to successfully and quickly extinguish out-of-control blazes without more attention and money.


"The success in dealing with the fire masked the inadequacies in wildfire suppression capacity that currently exist and are worsening rapidly due to staffing cuts and very old equipment," the state Forestry Commission cautioned in a report posted on its Web site. "The lack of appreciation for the wildfire threat that exists in the state and long-term budget reductions have had a devastating effect on the agency's response capacity."

The agency's 35-page report evaluates its response to the 2009 wildfire that tore along South Carolina's Grand Strand, destroying 76 homes and charring 31 square miles near Myrtle Beach. Several thousand residents were evacuated, and officials have estimated property losses of more than $25 million.

The Forestry Commission was one of about 20 agencies to respond to the inferno near the state's tourist mecca that started as a backyard debris fire. Authorities said homeowner Marc Torchi failed to let officials know he was burning and let the fire spread. He has pleaded guilty and paid fines, but Torchi but believes he has been unfairly blamed.

No one was seriously injured, but the agency warns that its available personnel and equipment might have proven inadequate had last year's fire season been more active.

Several smaller wildfires in the state part of the state as the Horry County fire meant agencies were already stretched by the time the wildfire broke out, officials wrote. Some of the tractor plow operators who would have been called in to help plow fire breaks were on furlough due to budget cuts, and other available workers were several counties away.

"Under severe fire conditions, the Commission's capacity would not have been adequate, and many more homes and much more timber would have been lost, with a high probability of death or serious injury to citizens and firefighters," the agency wrote. "In the future, insufficient equipment replacement funding, the loss of experienced firefighters, and difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel will have further serious impacts on the agency's response capability."

The House Ways and Means Committee approved a $5 billion spending plan that cuts $2.2 million from the agency's $12.1 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposed budget also gives the agency $300,000 in federal stimulus money.

Among the agency's other recommendations, the Forestry Commission said it needs to:

• have better communication with local officials during incidents, including acting quickly to set up a unified command post and implement methods for firefighters to check-in;
• conduct annual exercises to test communications equipment and public notification systems;
• send more public information officers to fire scenes to get information to media;
• review safety procedures for fighting fires in rural and urban areas.

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