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.
Tres años de cárcel para el hippy alemán del incendio forestal de La Palma https://t.co/ukwfZ96u98
— ABC.es (@abc_es) May 6, 2017
This is now the eighth article on Wildfire Today tagged “toilet paper”.
I feel bad for investigation when they show up on these
People gotta stop doing that.