Charges filed against man for Deer Creek fire

by David Boyle
News Director
Charges have been filed in connection to the start of the Deer Creek Fire, which burned 17,724 acres this summer in the Old La Sal area.
In an October 3 statement, San Juan County Sheriff Lehi Lacy said “We will hold individuals accountable when their actions put lives, property, and our natural resources at risk.”
Charges for 68-year-old Scott Carrier, a Salt Lake City man who owns property in La Sal, total four counts.
They include reckless burning, abandoning a fire, and causing a catastrophe recklessly. They are all class A misdemeanors, in addition to a class B charge of violation of fire restriction order in a closed area.
The fire began July 10 with containment one month later. The cost of the fire suppression effort exceeded $24 million, in addition to burning 17,724 acres, destroying more than a dozen homes, and causing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
A probable cause statement filed in Seventh District Court said that the initial callers who reported the fire shared a photo of white smoke behind Carrier’s house and the partner of Carrier told deputies that she believed the fire started on the property.
The statement notes that Carrier admitted to burning sagebrush piles in the winter, but said he had not burned recently. The probable cause statement said the piles of burned materials appeared fresh.
The statement said Carrier speculated that lightning the night before or arson may have caused the fire.
The State Fire Investigator’s report determined the fire to be human caused with two origin areas, one being a debris burn or an area where ashes from a cooking/warming fire had been discarded. It notes suppression efforts, including a sprinkler and water had been employed to extinguish the fire.
The second location reportedly appeared to be a spot fire ignited by an ember from the original fire, which the report says grew undetected until it became an uncontrolled wildfire. A weather map lists the closest lightning strike from the night before at about nine miles away.
The sheriff’s statement notes the case will be prosecuted by the San Juan County Attorney’s Office.