Man To Pay $500 Fine For Starting $37M Fire

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Man To Pay $500 Fine For Starting $37M Fire

Telegraph Fire Started Aug. 25

MARIPOSA, Calif. -- A man convicted of starting a wildfire that cost the state more than $37 million to battle was sentenced to pay a $500 fine.Davin Mosher, 29, was apparently shooting a gun at a makeshift target, when the sparks from the gunfire caused dry grass to catch fire.Mosher was also sentenced Thursday to three years of probation. A judge has also ordered that his two rifles be destroyed.

The Telegraph Fire started on Aug. 25 and burned more than 34,000 acres near Yosemite National Park. The blaze eventually cost the state more than $37 million to battle and caused millions of dollars in property damage.

The judge in the case said Mosher got a lenient sentence because he called fire crews immediately after flames got out of control.

But Mosher could face more penalties down the road because the fire caused more than $30 million worth of damage, Mariposa County District Attorney Robert Brown said."The court could still decide at a later date that he should be ordered to pay back the state and the individuals that have been harmed as a result of his conduct," Brown said.

Source: KCRA 3

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****REMINDER**** Every fire has the ability to be catastrophic. The wildland fire management environment has profoundly changed. Growing numbers of communities, across the nation, are experiencing longer fire seasons; more frequent, bigger, and more severe, fires are a real threat. Be careful with all campfires and equipment.

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Thursday, December 4, 2008