HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – As the massive Carolina Forest wildfire continues to burn, state officials are already looking ahead to keep the community safe.
On Wednesday, the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC) went before the South Carolina Senate Finance Committee, requesting a budget of over $11 million.
SCFC said this funding would help give them more resources to prevent and fight wildfires like the one people have seen for nearly two weeks in Carolina Forest.
“This year, we’ve remained focused on critical needs,” said SCFC State Forester Scott Phillips.
During the committee meeting, Phillips detailed the SCFC’s needs.
“Our budget request this year totals $11.16 million dollars,” said Phillips.
The SCFC said its number one priority is securing nearly $350,000 state dollars for wildfire prevention staff because they said federal funding for those positions is fleeting.
“Federal funding for our program staff is ending,” said Phillips.
Without this funding, SCFC risks losing critical wildfire prevention positions, which they said would hurt their wildfire prevention campaigns and projects.
“Which will result in more large wildfires, more damage to homes, more damage to properties,” said Phillips.
SCFC also said these now at-risk positions have helped make Walkers Woods a fire-wise community, which they said saved homes during the Carolina Forest Wildfire.
“They worked with our prevention teams. They put in a shady shelter break all the way around that community, which gave us defensible space to defend those homes. No homes in Walker Woods were damaged,” said Phillips.
The SCFC compared the success their wildfire prevention team had with Walkers Woods to The Reserve at Walkers Woods. They said The Reserve did not work with their prevention and sustained damage to their homes during the fires.
Additionally, SCFC’s budget would accommodate recruitment and retention funds and support the cost of mission-critical software. All of these things the SCFC said would help keep our community safe now and into the future.
The SCFC also highlighted that the same subcommittee also championed the state for funding in 2024 for single-engine air tankers that have assisted with the Carolina Forest area fires.
“It’s critical that we get the funding for these positions,” said Phillips.
WMBF News is still working to learn if and when these budget requests could be approved.
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