Three South Carolina men and a juvenile were charged with a misdemeanor Tuesday after authorities said their failure to properly put out their cigarettes sparked the Table Rock Fire, which has burned more than 13,000 acres.
Nyzaire Jah-Neiz Marsh, 19, of Taylors, and Tristan Tyler and Isaac Wilson, both 18, of Greenville, were arrested Tuesday morning and charged with one count each of negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.
A juvenile whose name and age were not released was also charged but was not booked and was released to their parents, officials said.
The Table Rock Fire was sparked by their handling of cigarettes while they were hiking in Table Rock State Park on March 21, the Forestry Commission said.
Arrest warrant affidavits allege “the suspects took part in smoking activities on a hiking trail at the state park and did not extinguish their cigarettes in a proper and safe manner, which officials allege led to the ignition of the Table Rock Fire,” the Forestry Commission said.
The fire was 30% contained Tuesday. No injuries have been reported.
Authorities were searching for a missing hiker on March 21 when Pickens County sheriff’s deputies and state park personnel came upon the rapidly growing wildfire, officials said.
They got seven hikers in all to safety and questioned them about how it started, the Forestry Commission said.
Pickens County Sheriff Tommy Blankenship said on the evening of March 21 that investigators had identified the hikers who started the fire.
Attempts to reach Marsh, Tyler and Wilson by phone Tuesday evening were not immediately successful. Online court records did not list attorneys for them.
