The two men suspected of starting the Elk Fire last year appeared briefly in court yesterday, with a new trial date set.
Appearing before Judge Pallone at the San Bernardino Superior Court yesterday morning – Liam Stinson and Aaron McKeeman are the suspects in the ignition of the Elk Fire last year between Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree National Park – a wildfire that grew to 200 acres in a single day due to winds, dry weeds and invasive grasses. 125 firefighters from multiple county, state and federal fire agencies responded and had the fire mostly contained within the first days of the fire, and eventually stopped the fire’s growth at just over 430 acres.
The Elk Fire is a stark contrast to the fire season this year, which has been mercifully mild in the morongo. The Geology Tour fire in Joshua Tree National Park burned over 1000 acres of desert before being fully contained. In nearby Riverside County – the Rabbit Fire is still burning alongside three others – though the rabbit brush fire is expected to be contained as today.
A wetter winter gave us a greener and milder spring – but that extra water encourages both native and invasive weeds and grasses to grow, creating a landscape in the dry summer months that can explode into a wildfire with the slightest amount of carelessness.
Please remember to limit activities that can spark a deadly and destructive wildfire – open burning is currently prohibited in the county, fireworks are always illegal, and campfires have a better place in every other season than summer here in the hi-desert.
Wildfires are preventable, and in most cases you are responsible for the costs of fighting a wildfire if caught and convicted. It’s unclear what restitution or charges the state will be seeking in the case against the two suspects in the Elk Fire – but Captain Bennett Milloy from Cal Fire spoke to the costs of fighting these fires:
Captain Bennett Milloy: “With CalFire, In the case of a vegetation fire and we find you responsible for that… we seek restitution from you, so you would have to pay for the suppression cost. I don’t know if you’ve saw the news lately and what it cost to suppress these large and damaging wildfires, but you know they can typically be in the 10’s or 30s of millions of dollars and you would be responsible for paying the state back for the suppression costs.”
Previously Reported:
