A massive brush fire erupted on Laurel Island in Charleston, S.C., overnight on January 28, 2026, scorching about 20 acres of former landfill turned greenspace near Romney Street.​
Response Details
Charleston Police and fire crews arrived just before 11 p.m., calling in specialized brush trucks from Charleston, St. Johns, and Mount Pleasant departments, plus drones for monitoring. The blaze produced ash fallout in Mount Pleasant but posed no threat to structures; it was fully extinguished around 2 a.m. on January 29.
Investigation Status
No injuries were reported, and the cause remains unknown as of January 29, with investigators planning to revisit the site that morning. Early rumors of the fire being under the Cooper River (Ravenel) Bridge were debunked—its edge was over 3,000 feet away.
