Volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania charged with 60 felonies after lighting two dozen fires

YET ANOTHER TOILET PAPER ARSONIST:  An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter allegedly started 21 wildfires over the last couple months; ABC-27 News reported that Adam Ewing, of Three Springs, was arrested by the Bureau of Forestry for setting wildland fires in February and March.

On Saturday, Feb. 11, a series of wildfires started in southern Huntingdon County. Just before 2:30 p.m., crews were called out to a fire near Captain Jack’s Road. This fire burned about a half acre in dead leaves and brush before firefighters could control the flames. About 20 minutes later, crews were dispatched to another fire along Old Tannery Road in the Saltillo Borough. Another third of an acre was burned before firefighters were able to control it, according to a criminal affidavit.

On Feb. 14, investigators from the Bureau of Forestry visited the locations of the two fires to determine a cause. They concluded the fires had been maliciously lit with the intention to burn or spread.

another toilet paper arsonist
Adam Ewing, of Three Springs, was arrested by the Bureau of Forestry for setting 21 fires in Huntingdon County in February and March. Huntingdon County Prison photo

WTAJ-TV News reported that just before 2:30 p.m., crews were called out to a fire near Captain Jack’s Road; it burned .51 acres of dead leaves and brush before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.

Investigators then learned that Ewing was the one who had called in the fire along Captain Jack’s Road. Later on Feb. 14, multiple fire crews were called out after two wildfires were reported near Hamman Road and Sugar Grove Road in Cromwell Township. Investigators from the Bureau of Forestry responded to the fires and were able to confirm again that these fires had been intentionally lit, according to the criminal complaint. The Three Springs Volunteer Fire Company’s Chief Chris Grace told the forestry investigators that Ewing — a volunteer firefighter — was the first to arrive at the fire station for the call. On Feb. 23 and 24, another 10 fires were reported — and also called arson by state Forestry. Police noted in the filed charges that at three of the fires, they found pieces of toilet paper with a rose pattern. Investigators went to Ewing’s home, where they confirmed that the toilet paper at the burn sites matched the rose pattern toilet paper at Ewing’s home. Ewing has yet to post his $500,000 bail. He’s facing 63 felony charges

German ‘hippy’ sentenced to prison for deadly island wildfire

The 27-year-old German cave-dweller who ignited a deadly wildfire while burning used toilet paper on a Spanish island has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Scott Verdine Stumpf admitted last year to accidentally starting the August fire while burning used toilet paper — Spanish media outlets reported he had been living in a nearby cave for an extended period of time. In addition to prison, he was ordered to pay the equivalent of about $2 million U.S. dollars in restitution, local media outlets reported.

The wildfire blackened about 5,000 acres and forced hundreds of evacuations on La Palma, a landmass that is part of Spain’s Canary Islands. Francisco Jose Santana, a park ranger and married father of five, died during firefighting operations.

Wildfires rage in Portugal and Spain; one firefighter killed

From the Daily Mail at 8:29 p.m. MDT August 8, 2016:

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“More than 4,400 firefighters battled hundreds of forest blazes in Portugal as a man admitted causing a huge Spanish wildfire by lighting soiled toilet paper.

The National Civil Protection Authority in Portugal said by late afternoon almost 1,500 vehicles and 32 water-dumping planes were deployed at 702 wildfires, some of which have been burning for days.

Wildfires in Portugal
NASA satellite image showing in red the location of wildfires and smoke produced by the blazes in Portugal at 12:55 UTC August 9, 2016. The image shows most of Portugal and the west coast of Spain.

Meanwhile, after raging for six days, a Spanish wildfire which started when a German lit his spoiled toilet paper was finally brought under control as 500 residents were evacuated and a forest worker was killed.

In Spain, authorities said firefighters had managed to bring a six-day-old forest fire on the Atlantic island of La Palma under control and were allowing evacuated residents to return to their homes.

The regional government for the Canary Islands archipelago said the measure affected 500 residents evacuated a day earlier from the town of Villa de Mazo.

The fire claimed the life of one forest worker and has destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest on the volcanic island off the northwest coast of Africa.”

Wildfire Briefing, September 4, 2015

Snow slows fire in Idaho

Elevenmile Fire snow
NWS photo by Ryan Walbrun, the Incident Meteorologist at the Elevenmile Fire.

The National Weather Service in Pocatello, Idaho reports that Friday morning snow fell at the Elevenmile Fire between Bonanza and Challis.

Due to a forecast that included rain and snow, firefighters were removed from high elevation spike camps on the fire Thursday.

The lightning-caused fire discovered on August 24 has burned over 10,300 acres.

Cyclist who started fire by burning his toilet paper may be on the hook for large dollars

The bicyclist who accidentally started a fire near Boise on July 22 by burning his soiled toilet paper may have to pay a fine as well as a portion of the suppression costs. The Idaho Statesman reported that BLM spokesperson Carrie Bilbao said the costs are likely to be between $50,000 and $75,000 which includes the use of four air tankers and three helicopters. The fire was stopped before it approached homes after burning 73 acres.

Scooping air tankers drop 182,000 gallons on a fire in Montana

Below are excerpts from an article at KPAX about firefighting aircraft working out of Helena, Montana this summer:

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“In an average year we have 15 to 20 aircraft that come through in a season,” says Helena National Forest public affairs officer Kathy Bushnell. “So far this year, we’ve had 20-plus different aircraft come through.”

Thanks to its location, aircraft staged here can reach many parts of central Montana quickly. The Aviation Center serves multiple aircraft.

“Helicopters, we have air tankers, single-engine air tankers, heavy air tankers that’ll come in depending on what is ordered for the fires,” Bushnell said.

This week, firefighters are also getting an assist from visitors from Canada, CL-415 water bombers.

“We requested some additional aircraft to come out to help us with the fires here in Montana, Idaho, and Washington,” said Bushnell.

The bomber scoops water from lakes into huge tanks – 1,600 gallons in 12 seconds.

The water bombers arrived in town Monday. On Tuesday, they were hard at work on the Bray Fire burning north of Holter Lake.

“They worked about six flight hours,” according to Bushnell. “They were able to do 112 loads which equates to about 182,000 gallons of water that was used on the fire.”

Health warning in California due to wildfire smoke

The Rough Fire east of Fresno, California has prompted the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to issue a health warning to people headed to the mountains and foothills of Tulare and Fresno counties this weekend.

The district says children and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

#Boise was trending on Twitter Friday because of how a fire started

Yes, it’s another wildfire started by someone trying to protect the environment by burning it — that is, by burning his soiled toilet paper and inadvertently starting a wildfire.

The Idaho Statesman reports it was a cyclist who accidentally started the 73-acre fire near Boise on Wednesday. There were many Tweets and media articles about the pooping cyclist.

This is not the first time burning toilet paper has started a wildfire. In fact, we have a tag for “toilet paper” that will take you to four articles about it — five now.

Woman burns toilet paper, starts fire, is given suspended sentence

A woman in South Australia who dealt with soiled toilet paper by burning it, was given a two-month suspended sentence for the one-acre bushfire she started near Murphy’s Haystacks last December.

Below is an excerpt from the West Coast Sentinel:

…[Melissa Jane] Carmody was camping for several days near Murphy’s Haystacks, which resulted in a pile of debris forming, which a member of the public became concerned about.

This alerted Ms Carmody to set fire to the pile of toilet paper she had accumulated from not having a bathroom.

“You burnt soiled toilet paper in a situation where you thought that that was something that you ought to do,” Judge [Simon] Stretton said.

“What you should of realised is on that December 2, 2013 you were right in the middle of bushfire season and there is an obvious risk that burning paper outdoors is going to cause a grass fire,” he said.

We are aware of at least four other fires started by the same behavior, and documented three of them here. A fourth was in the 1980s in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in southern California during the annual big horn sheep count. There are other reports of fires with the same cause in George Creek Canyon on the Inyo National Forest in 1979, and the Narrows Fire on the Angeles NF in 1997.   (Check out the comments below this article at Wildfire Today.)

Man ordered to pay $2.7 M for New Mexico fire

GavelA Texas resident has been ordered to pay $2,700,000 in restitution for starting a wildfire in New Mexico in April of 2011. Rodrigo Ulloa-Esquivel of El Paso admitted that he lit toilet paper on fire after relieving himself. He explained that he did not want to leave litter behind. The Last Chance fire burned 53,342 acres in the Lincoln National Forest and damaged four structures in the Sitting Bulls Falls Recreation area. U.S. Forest Service officials said it cost $2,300,000 million to suppress the fire and the damages to the structures amounted to $67,500.

He was also sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.

Large fire in national park in Chile may have started from burning toilet paper

Fire In Torres del Paine NP
Fire In Torres del Paine NP
Fire In Torres del Paine NP. Photo: AFP

Authorities in Chile have accused Rotem Singer, an Israeli hiker, of accidentally starting a fire in a national park by not completely extinguishing toilet paper that he had burned. The fire in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park has burned about 27,000 acres which is four percent of the total area of the park.

The hiker’s father, Yehezkel Singer, said his son was more than a kilometer away from the fire and the authorities who interrogated him did not speak English and Rotem does not speak Spanish, so there may have been confusion during the interrogation.

Mandi Gisser, a friend of Rotem, said Rotem burned the toilet paper because park managers request that hikers leave nothing behind. She said he is certain the toilet paper was not burning when he left it. Gisser said some locals tried to attack the Israelis as they were leaving the courthouse where Rotem’s hearing was held.

On August 30, 2011 we wrote an article about a person that admitted accidentally starting a fire in New Mexico by burning toilet paper. People who commented on the article submitted several other examples of toilet paper caused fires.
Thanks go out to Dick

Texas man admits to starting fire by burning toilet paper

Tanker 00 drops on the Lst Chance fire; photo by Joel Arnwine
Tanker 00 drops on the Last Chance fire; photo by Joel Arnwine
Tanker 00 drops on the Last Chance fire; photo by Joel Arnwine

A 29-year-old man faces up to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of leaving a fire unattended in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico in April. Rodrigo Ulloa-Esquivel of El Paso admitted that he lit toilet paper on fire after relieving himself. He explained that he did not want to leave litter behind. The Last Chance fire burned 53,342 acres.

Fires started by campers burning toilet paper is not as uncommon as you may think. I recall one or possibly two fires that were started this way by volunteers in Anza Borrego Desert State Park in California during the annual Bighorn Sheep Count.