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Columbus man charged with setting recent roadside fires

COLUMBUS—A former local firefighter was arrested this week for starting suspicious roadside fires throughout the county. 

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Fire Marshal’s Office and the North Carolina Forest Service jointly investigated the fires, which at one point was approximately 15 on various roads throughout the county. 

Timothy Wayne Stewart, 33, of 81 Julia St., Columbus, was arrested by the sheriff’s office Wednesday and charged with 9 counts of misdemeanor setting fire to woods/lands/fields, according to sheriff’s office reports. 

Stewart is a former volunteer firefighter with the Mill Spring Fire Department and a former paid firefighter with the Columbus Fire Department, according to the sheriff’s office. 

The rash of roadside fires began on Friday, Feb. 21 and over that weekend alone, there were 15 reports of roadside fires. The fires were small and luckily none of them got out of control. Another fire was reported Wednesday night in Mill Spring. 

Roadside fires were reported in the last couple of weeks along Interstate 26, U.S. 74 near Pea Ridge, Sandy Plains Road, Skyuka Mountain Road, Tony Road, Forest Glen and Old 19. 

A magistrate set Stewart’s bond at $2,000 secured Wednesday with Stewart making bond shortly after midnight Thursday. 

“This case is a prime example of what can be accomplished when all of us- emergency services, fire departments, local law enforcement and state agencies work hand-in-hand to keep our communities safe,” Polk County Sheriff Tim Wright said Thursday.