SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah man who admitted starting a September 2015 wildfire near the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest has been sentenced to five years’ federal probation and to repay the $160,000 it cost to extinguish the blaze.
James Orville Gill’s attorney Bob Steele, told the Salt Lake Tribune (https://bit.ly/2mtHyT3 ) on Thursday that the sentence will allow the 37-year-old military veteran to continue rehabilitative work.
Steele declined to talk about mental health and substance abuse treatment provisions in the sentence.
A United Fire Authority captain reported encountering Gill on a trail and said Gill showed him a lighter and said he started the Mill Creek Canyon fire.
Nearby residents were asked to evacuate during the fire.
Federal prosecutors had sought more than two years in prison, saying Gill had a history of drug use and domestic violence.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, https://www.sltrib.com
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