SC Forestry Commission employee faces arson-related charges in ‘suspicious wildfires’

A South Carolina Forestry Commission employee has been arrested on arson charges connected to “a string of suspicious wildfires,” according to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department and the state Forestry Commission.

Brad Chance, 52, of St. Stephen in Berkeley County, was arrested Thursday afternoon after a joint investigation by the department and the Forestry Commission.

He is charged with three counts of willfully burning lands of another. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, or a maximum $5,000 fine.

The burned lands were in northern Berkeley County near the Francis Marion National Forest.

Chance is a forestry technician who worked for the agency in Berkeley and Charleston counties, the press release said. He has worked for the agency since February 2021.

The Forestry Commission has suspended Chance without pay pending the investigation, the press release said.