Fire destroys four Garden City homes

South Strand firefighters battled a fire in a Garden City neighborhood that destroyed four homes.

Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles in Horry and Georgetown counties.

Murrells Inlet-Garden City fire Lt. Chuck Petrella said the fire was first reported Saturday afternoon at 469 Bay Drive in the Salters Cove neighborhood.

Firefighters from Murrells Inlet-Garden City, Horry County Fire Rescue, Surfside Beach, and Myrtle Beach worked together to fight the fire that damaged several homes in the neighborhood.

Neighbors told a News13 crew on the scene, they think the fire may have been started by either a boat or a grill, and spread with the wind.

Brian Thrower, who lives in the area and grabbed his video camera when he first saw the flames, said seeing the fire was a terrifying experience. “At first, there wasn’t a whole lot of smoke, but the flames got so tall; the smoke was way up in the air and then the flames started hitting the houses beside them.“  Thrower said.

Petrella said the area was roped off Saturday and investigators are talking with witnesses and gathering information.

Petrella said he was one of the first firefighters on the scene and he didn’t see anything that leads him to suspect arson or anything suspicious.

The cause of the fire is under investigation according to Chief Norman Knight, Murrells Inlet Fire and Rescue.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental.

Photos by Nick Stavrakis/WBTW