Arizona Fire-Starter Suspect Arrested

AP ^ | Jun 30, 2002 | ALISA BLACKWOOD

[grimalkin]

SHOW LOW, Ariz., Jun 30, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A man was arrested Saturday night for allegedly causing the first of two wildfires that merged into the blaze that destroyed more than 400 homes in eastern Arizona, an official said.

Pete Pierce, a spokesman for the agencies investigating the cause of the largest wildfire ever in Arizona, didn't release the man's name or any details about the circumstances that led to his arrest.

Pierce said the man was to be arraigned Sunday morning before a federal magistrate.

The Arizona Republic, citing a federal source it didn't identify, reported on its Web site that the man is a Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighter.

The man was accused of causing the Rodeo fire, which broke out June 18 just north of the town of Cibecue on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. The fire exploded up steep terrain, threatened the small city of Show Low and overran two towns just to the west.

That fire then merged with another started by a lost hiker signaling a helicopter, forming a mammoth blaze that had burned 452,000 acres by Saturday. In all, at least 423 homes had been destroyed.

Paul K. Charlton, U.S. attorney for Arizona, was to hold a news conference on the arrest Sunday morning, Pierce said.

Phones rang unanswered late Saturday night at the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix.

By ALISA BLACKWOOD Associated Press Writer

[ppaul]

Probably another EarthFirst! environmental wacko.

[blackie]

Stop the attacks by the wacko, extreme left-wing, enviro-nazis terrorist's on our Freedoms !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Labe !!

[blackie]

Right-on Dave !! Stop the attacks by the wacko, extreme left-wing, druid worshipping, enviro-nazis terrorist's on our Freedoms !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Labe !!

[madfly]

Leonard Greg
29yr old part-time firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

At arraignment, Judge asked if he had anything to say, and he said "I am sorry for what I did". Judge said this was not the time to get into that. oops

Didn't look like any activist. Probably from the group who want that $80,000 paycheck for a Bad Fire season.

Indian Name:
Fights fire for much wampum.

Press conference on Channel 14, Cox Cable.
US Atty: violations of 18 codes
Maximum penalties 5 year and $250,000 and restitution to all.

[madfly]

BIA saying individual charged with starting the fire was NOT a BIA firefigher? huh?

Spokesman for Tribe says, "We cannot rush to judgement." Too late for that, haha

FBI - He was a contract employee.
Yup, evidence that he started fire to earn money!!!!!!!

[madfly]

Bump

[brityank]

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Hey those of us who live in the Jurdisdiction of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have an opportunity to get together, learn, plan, meet one another and make a difference. Please check out this thread. Freepers Making a Difference

Let's get together at FRiva Las Vegas and get to know each other and make a difference! Please forward this to your ping lists and to the state boards! Regards, TS

5 posted on 6/30/02 2:37 AM Eastern by The Shrew

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Wish I could join you, but it's not in the cards this year.

[Schatze]

Only five years?? IMO, this creep ought to be strung up from the nearest tree.

[MissAmericanPie]

If it can be proven that these people set these fires deliberately, then they need/must be charged with terrorism and receive the appropriate sentence.

I don't care what their excuse is, if any link can be traced between them and enviro organizations then they should be charged with eco-terrorism. If there is no link then they are pyro-maniac terrorists. But terrorists are what they are. They need to pay the price for it, no mercy.

[blackie]

I will not be in Vegas either...

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Labe !!

[strela]

Wet rawhide, stakes, honey, anthill. Let the Indians take care of their own, I say.

[Timesink]

You know how airline pilots are required to undergo a psych exam every six months to make sure they're not about to snap and pull an Egyptair 990? I'm beginning to think the feds should require the same thing for any forest firefighter. At least the arsonbug city firefighters almost always pick empty buildings to set on fire. Out in the forest though, those nutbags' "little teeny fires" end up taking out hundreds of homes, causing other firemen to get killed while fighting the gigantic blaze, etc.

[Timesink]

Phones rang unanswered late Saturday night at the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix.

Ha ha ha! A federal employee at work on a Saturday night! ROFL! That's a good one!

[backhoe]

Wish I could join you, but it's not in the cards this year.

Same here, friend- I was just explaining to Cyberant that money's tight, and Emily may need more neck surgery soon- she has noticed in the past month a return of some symptoms she had before the plate was installed last year. The Doc mentioned something about "may require a second operation"- we didn't pay much attention to it at the time, figuring 'one hurdle at a time.'

Even if we could afford it at this time, she hasn't traveled well since that surgery- 30 minutes is about the maximum time she can endure in something that moves.

Perhaps in better days to come!

[Eva]

I just returned from Arizona and I have to tell you that the Environmentalists are getting the blame for the the out of control fires that blackened so many acres. The leftist enviro group that we have been reading about on F.R., that rants about a sustainable environment, filed a legal suit which has halted all logging, thinning, etc. for the past three years.

In addition to the environmentalists, we again have the nimby who object to controlled burns.

It's interesting to note that CNN did a piece on the Indian firefighters in the area and claimed that they did all their own firefighting on their land with no help from the outside. It looks like they start their own fires also.

[FITZ]

The real culprits are the ones that set the stage for this fire. The environmentalists are, in effect, running the forests.

With all the possible causes of a forest fire ---bonfires, engine sparks, lightening, cigarettes from windows, I don't think they can trace these fires to 3 or 4 individuals stepping up to claim the blame. The environmentalists will use this to further claim that humans can't be in or near the forests and the media will make it look like 3 or 4 people did all this instead of the stupid government policies toward the forests and mismanagement of them the past two administrations.

[cake_crumb]

Good.

YO BUD, whomever you are....Mexican spotted owls and burning trees do NOT mix.

A$$HOLE.....you and your ilk KILL microsystems......

You make the rest of us sick. You are sick. Get a clue.

[MARTIAL MONK]

The Sierra Club has already said that it is access that causes fires. In other words if the peasants would stay out of the Sierra Club's private little paradise everything would be just dunky-hory.

I can name a dozen major lightning caused fires in the past couple of years. The Pumpkin or Kendrick Mountain fire and the Peak Fire come to mind as ones definately caused by lightning. This year there will be more.

We have an unfortunate tendency to let the loonies off the hook when we have an opportunity to destroy them. They do not have the same tendency. We need to kick these jokers while they are down and keep kicking until they can never get back up. It is beginning to dawn on people what these nuts are and what they are doing. We need to keep reinforcing this public perception until they put a bounty on their ears and hunt them down with dogs.

[FITZ]

I know Mexico is suffering from the same drought and I haven't heard of any out-of-control fires down there. They're probably lucky and have a government that's too inefficient or busy with other things to "manage" the forests like our government. Our environmentalists have demanded very unnatural methods for forest management ---there isn't really such a thing as preserving "old growth" forests in nature. We need to rid ourselves of these kooks now that their methods have proven to be so wrong.