Bow hunter accused of sparking massive Rim fire with illegal campfire

[Eugene]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Bow hunter accused of sparking massive Rim fire with illegal campfire

By KATE MATHER
AUGUST 8, 2014 7:55 AM

The deer hunter charged with setting the Rim fire in 2013 -- one the largest in California's history -- ignored temporary restrictions put in place for national forest land and kindled a fire that spread beyond his control, federal prosecutors allege.

The fire, which started Aug. 17, 2013, in a remote area of the Stanislaus National Forest, would go on to burn more than 250,000 acres to become the state's third largest wildfire, devouring chaparral and oak as it chewed through the western border of Yosemite.

Ten people were injured and more than 100 structures destroyed during the nine weeks that the blaze burned. Officials said the firefight alone cost more than $125 million; the total damage was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars more.

Keith Matthew Emerald of the Sierra foothills town of Columbia, Calif., was charged with two felonies: setting timber afire and lying to a government agency, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday. He also was charged with two misdemeanors: violating a fire restriction order, and leaving a fire unattended and unextinguished.

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Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hunter-charged-massive-rim-fire-20140808-story.html

[frylock]

1. fucking idiot..

I love that wilderness, and have spent a lot of time packing through there.

[alp227]

2. Pled not guilty today, per SF Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Hunter-accused-of-sparking-Yosemite-fire-5684075.php

and Fresno Bee: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/12/4066750/accused-starter-of-rim-fire-pleads.html