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 Keith Matthew Emerald, 32, entered his plea in U.S. District Court
in Fresno almost exactly a year after prosecutors say he sparked the
Rim Fire, which scorched 260,000 acres on public and private land in
and near the park.
Emerald, who lives near the area burned by the fire, is charged with
setting timber afire, leaving a fire unattended, violating campfire
restrictions and giving a false statement to a government agency. He
is expected to be released from custody after his $60,000 bail is
posted.
Federal prosecutors say Emerald built a fire in the remote dry brush
of Stanislaus National Forest, where temporary campfire restrictions
were in effect because of drought, while on a bow-and-arrow hunting
trip last August.
Embers from the campfire reached parched branches overhead and
sparked the devastating wildfire named after the Rim of the World
lookout spot nearby.
The flames scorched 402 square miles, destroyed nearly 100
structures and cost more than $127 million.
"The Rim Fire was one of the largest in California history and
caused tremendous economic and environmental harm," said Scott
Harris, a U.S. Forest Service special agent in charge of the area
where the Rim Fire took place. "While those harms cannot be undone,
today we have brought criminal charges relating to the cause of that
fire."
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Rescuers airlifted Emerald from the burning forest about an hour
after the wildfire began, according to court documents. Emerald
initially told investigators that he did not set fire to anything
during his trip.
Federal prosecutors say that Emerald lit a campfire and then lied
about it to investigators. If convicted of all four counts, he faces
a maximum sentence of six years in prison and $510,000 in fines. He
is scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 14.
Emerald's attorneys were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Jennifer Chaussee from San Francisco; Editing by
Sharon Bernstein and Eric Walsh)
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