Myrtle Beach woman charged in connection with Covington Drive fire

MRYTLE BEACH, S.C. (WTVD) -- A Myrtle Beach woman was charged in connection with a large wildfire in South Carolina.

According to the South Carolina Forestry Commission, authorities arrested 40-year-old Alexandra Bialousow on Thursday. She is facing two charges related to the escape of a residential yard debris burn that officials said ignited the more than 2,000 acre Covington Drive Fire near Myrtle Beach.

The commission said Bialousow is accused of not taking the proper precautions to prevent her debris burn from escaping and negligently allowing fire to spread to "lands of another."

Witnesses said they saw Bialousow intentionally start a fire in a backyard fire pit that was close to a tree line within Covington Lakes Subdivision on March 1.

The commission said arrest warrants stated the suspect "did not have an appropriate water source readily available," nor did she "have any garden tools on hand to control the fire, thus allowing the fire to spread to land owned by Walker Woods HOA. This incident was witnessed by several neighbors."

When the fire started, a burn ban was in effect due to extreme fire danger.