PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A U.S. Forest Service employee that was in charge of a prescribed burn in Grant County on Wednesday is in custody after authorities said the fire spread onto private land.
The 39-year-old acting as the “burn boss” of the Starr 6 controlled burn was charged with reckless burning, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office announced in a release on Thursday.
The sheriff’s office said the prescribed burn was ignited near milepost 2 on the Izee Highway, north of Seneca when it crept onto Holliday Ranches. Officials said about 20 acres of the privately owned ranch land was burned by the blaze.
GCSO and the US Forest Service are handling the investigation. Officials said no other details on the case would be immediately released.