Rochestergirl,
Thanks for the kind welcome. As for locally, there is still no definite cause being voiced. They were supposed to have at least two professional arson investigators on the scene late Thursday or today. Initial radio reports were that due to extremely dry, low humidity, and windy conditions the fire started as a result of someone burining their trash in South Santee. While that may in fact be true, I find it hard to believe that it took so long for someone to dial up 911. Either someone was not paying any attention, or they intentionally wanted it to spread. Charleston County dispensed nearly every truck and firefighter we had to assist and the majority of Mount P. Police left to handle traffic. Locally, someone in one of the Francis Marion Forest towers called in the FIRST 911 call (per local news), and that has to be over 25 or 30 miles away, so it had apparently spread far before 911 was called.
I must agree that although my first impression was that this could be devastating to the search for evidence, this could just as easily, in fact, be one of God's many blessings in disguise. With all of the firefighters on the scene, who knows that it wouldn't have someone turn up a clue or two while covering the wide area monitoring the embers. It is very dry, land windy as of late, so conditions were ideal. If I hear anything, I'll be the first to post it here. LE in general is quite good at keeping everything on the "down-low" until they are certain they have a reasonable assurance in making any official statements and I guess that's a good thing.
Adding to the entire sadness is the fact that the Francis Marion Forest is truly beautiful. In the southern area of Awendaw is a state supported fenced habitat for wolves which are almost extinct here (maybe 20 wild ones left in the state), so if you like canines, these are beautiful animals; breed here to be released back to the wild if possible.
God bless Brittanee and family. I can assure you that as a father, we will not forget and I will do all I can to make sure she returns home. SM and all of the others, maybe more than 10, were nearly forgotten over the years, but I can as easily assure that that will not happen again. There are sorry excuses for humans in every neighborhood, city, and state in the union and the world, and it's up to those like us to stop this insane madness now! We in Charleston and Mount P. have better educated and more professional investigators than ever, and if it's taking what seems to be forever to solve this it's because they want to make sure this does not go unpunished. We used to have an old electric chair here (in Columbia) we dubbed "Ole Sparky" and we weren't afraid to use it. We still believe in punishment fitting of the crime, and who wants to walk into court half prepared, to lose, and lose the ability to later bring charges when definitive proof is found, and I assure you that it will be found. Someone in Santee will continue to talk.
Thanks to all for the kind welcomes! I will post back on anything I hear asap. You guys are great and are helping keep the efforts alive. Many here (in S.C.) don't join up, or post here, but they do read and hear your collective crys for justice. Keep these discussions rolling to remind us of what's important...