In March 2025, careless teenage hikers ignited what would become the largest mountain wildfire in South Carolina’s recorded history. What started as a 10-acre fire on Table Rock Mountain exploded into nearly 16,000 acres, becoming the number one priority fire in the entire United States. In this first episode, we explore how South Carolina actually fights wildfires…. spoiler alert: it’s not what you think.
Special thanks to our guests who made this episode possible: Darryl Jones, Forest Protection Chief for the South Carolina Forestry Commission, who gave us incredible insight into wildfire fighting in our state; Lee Berry, Piedmont Region Pilot for the South Carolina Forestry Commission, who helped us understand aerial fire detection and suppression; and Mac Stone, Executive Director of Natural Land Trust and National Geographic photographer, whose firsthand accounts and stunning photography brought this story to life. We’ll be hearing much more from Mac in upcoming episodes.
Links:
- South Carolina Forestry Commission: scforestry.gov
- Natural Land Trust: naturalandtrust.org
- Mac Stone Photography: macstone.com
- Mac Stone on Instagram: @macstone_photo
