BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. (NC NOW) – A man has been cited after he was allegedly responsible for an eastern North Carolina wildfire that burned more than 1,300 acres over several days.

The man, 48-year-old Bobby Max Lowery, was accused of starting a fire on private property on April 25. The statute he allegedly violated indicated he did not keep and maintain a careful watch over the fire. According to state law, the maximum punishment for such an infraction is a $50 fine.

Two and a half weeks after Lowery was said to have started the fire, it had blossomed to 1,331 acres in size in Brunswick County and was 83% contained as of May 13.

The wildfire — dubbed the Sunset Road fire — was centered in the area of Highway 87 in Boiling Spring Lakes and nearby Sunset Road.

The North Carolina Forest Service had taken control of operations, but turned them back over to local personnel the morning of May 13.

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State officials said the wildfire came as much of North Carolina dealt with abnormally dry or drought conditions. A government drought monitor showed that 6.7% of the state was in the “severe drought” stage when it was last updated on May 8.

A sliver of Brunswick County was in the severe drought, although Boiling Spring Lakes was shown to have been in a moderate drought.

Officials said the drought, coupled with brush fuel, contributed to the “extreme fire behavior.”

Brunswick County is the southernmost county on the North Carolina coast and borders South Carolina’s Horry County, which includes Myrtle Beach.

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***Image Credit: N.C. Forest Service