A St. Helena Island man was charged Thursday with setting his ex-girlfriend's house on fire July 27.

Ellis Major Sr., 48, was connected to the crime because witnesses saw his van at the house on Storyteller Lane before the fire was reported, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The fire caused about $45,000 in damage to the single-story home.

The woman was not home at the time of the fire, and no one was injured.

Major has been released from the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond.