Plea agreement sought in Sequoia National Park fire

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FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The woman accused of starting a fire that
blackened more than 150,000 acres of the Sequoia National Forest
last summer would spend 18 months in prison under terms of a plea
agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
Peri Dare Van Brunt is scheduled Monday to enter guilty pleas to
three federal misdemeanors, each with a maximum sentence of six
months. The sentences would be served consecutively.
The so-called McNally fire was the worst in Sequoia National
Park history. It reportedly began after a campfire started by Van
Brunt, who was cooking hot dogs July 21, blew out of control.
In addition to 150,696 acres of forest area, the six-week, $60
million blaze destroyed three homes, five commercial properties,
including the lodge, and six outbuildings.
Van Brunt agreed to plead guilty to leaving a fire unattended
and unextinguished; causing timber and other growth to burn; and
setting a campfire without removing flammable material from around
the site.
All three counts are misdemeanors. She originally was indicted
on a felony charge that carried a maximum sentence of five years in
custody.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Woman accud of starting Sequoia wildfire pleads guilty
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - An unemployed cook accused of starting a
fire that scorched more than 150,000 acres of forest last summer
pleaded guilty Monday as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Peri Dare Van Brunt, 46, lit a campfire without a permit on July
21, prosecutors said. She was trying to cook hotdogs when the fireblew out of
control.
Van Brunt told authorities that she was smoking methamphetamine
the night before the fire. She has a jail record for drug
convictions, and was placed in a drug-treatment program after her
father posted a $35,000 bond on Aug 2.
The fire burned the Sequoia and parts of the Inyo national
forests for about six weeks. The blaze also endangered groves of
sequoias, some of the world's largest and oldest trees.
Authorities called the fire the worst in Sequoia National Park
history. The $60 million blaze destroyed three homes, five
commercial properties, including a lodge, and six outbuildings.
As part of the plea agreement filed in federal court in Fresno
last Friday, Van Brunt will spend 18 months in prison for the
misdemeanor offenses. She will be sentenced next month.
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On the Net:
Sequoia National Forest: http://www.r5.fs.fed.us/sequoia