Two Juveniles Receive Light Sentence For Starting Massive Utah Wildfire

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) _ The two boys who started last summer's Apex wildfire have been sentenced to four days in detention and 400 hours of community service.

The fire started June 28 burned more than 30,000 acres in the Beaver Dam Mountains about 10 miles south of Dixie National Forest. It cost $2 million to suppress the fire, and reseeding and restoration of the area was expected to cost another $1.3 million.

The youths appeared in court Monday, admitted to reckless burning, a class-A misdemeanor, and were sentenced by Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Higbee, The Spectrum reported in a copyright story. The newspaper was allowed to have reporters present on the condition the youths not be identified.

Higbee said that the one small action by the youths, who were 16 at the time, was reckless and not smart but resulted in a large, disproportionate consequence.

``To what end would incarceration (serve),'' Higbee said. ``Jail time could not make (the youths) hurt more.''

One youth said he and his friend had gone to four-wheel at a popular campsite. He said they spotted a book of discarded matches and wanted to see if they still worked.

He said they started a small fire on some planks of a loading dock, added some fuel, then scooped dirt over the flames.

While riding their four-wheelers, they spotted smoke in the area where they had been. He said they couldn't stop the fire so they rode home to tell his father. They called 9-1-1 and were told the fire already had been reported. They went to the police station to inform officials of what had happened.

The owner of the property where the fire started said one of the youths had started a fire on his property the previous September. He said holes were shot in his water tank, too.

The juveniles' attorney said the boys were truly sorry for their actions and would take them back if they could.

Angela Adams, prosecuting attorney, said had the boys not informed officers of their involvement, police probably would not have been able to figure out who started the fire.

The fire burned over part of the Shivwitz Reservation.

``This is where we've lived and hunted,'' Shivwitz Council Chairman Glenn Rogers said during the hearing. ``(These) are cultural plants. ... All have meaning to us.''

It will take 50 to 100 years before the plants came back to what they were, he said.

Rogers called the punishment a joke.

If incarcerated, the youths would have time to think about their actions, he said. ``This is like a slap on the wrist.''