SC Forestry employee accused of starting fires to face bond court judge

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - A man facing charges in connection with a string of wildfires in northern Berkeley County is expected to face a magistrate Friday.

Brad Chance, 52, is charged with three counts of willfully burning lands of another, the forestry commission said.

Chance is a forestry technician who has worked for the agency in Berkeley and Charleston Counties, a release states.

He was arrested Thursday following a joint investigation by South Carolina Forestry Commission law enforcement and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office related to a string of suspicious wildfires near the Francis Marion National Forest. Those wildfires took place in January and February, the release states.

Chance was hired by the forestry commission in February 2021.

Forestry officials say he is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

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