Genius arsonist sentenced in Missouri

A Missouri man was sentenced today to 12½ years in prison for arson on the Mark Twain National Forest and assault of a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer; U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh sentenced Lucas G. Henson, 37, of Iron County, Missouri, and ordered him to pay the USFS about $7,200 in suppression costs for the fires he set. According to a report by ky3.com Henson pleaded guilty in March to assaulting the LEO, along with arson and felon in possession of a firearm.

KSDK News reported that Henson last year set three fires across Butler and Wayne counties, which damaged seven or eight acres of National Forest Land. He also pointed a crossbow at a Forest Service officer.

U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming of the Eastern District of Missouri said Henson was in the forest after he’d crashed a stolen truck while fleeing from the truck’s owner. He also faced multiple other charges including first-degree robbery, stealing a motor vehicle, and resisting arrest.

He is due in New Madrid County Circuit Court in July.

According to Fleming, Henson was out on bond after being charged with stealing and drug offenses, when he stole a Ford van on October 22, 2022 near Poplar Bluff. He abandoned the van when it ran out of gas. Later that day, he broke into a camper and stole items from it. The next day, he stole a Dodge pickup, then burglarized a home and stole a 9mm handgun. He also stole a crossbow from a workshop near that home.

When the truck’s owner found Henson, Henson pointed the 9mm at him and drove away. Law enforcement officers then joined the pursuit. Henson eventually crashed the truck on Mark Twain National Forest land, then started a fire and attempted to burn the handgun 😜 and the other stolen items before trying to escape into the forest.

Officers began tracking Henson with dogs, and when they approached he started his next fire. Henson started another fire when officers approached him again.

He later aimed a crossbow at a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, as well as other officers, before taking off again. He was eventually caught near the Black River. Besides the USFS the case was investigated by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton prosecuted the case.

THANKS and a tip of the hardhat to Dale.

Roughly half of small Missouri town burned Saturday

Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022
Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022. Photo by Cooper County Fire Protection District

A wildfire burned about half of the small town of Wooldridge, Missouri Saturday. The fire started from a combine that was harvesting crops and spread into the town pushed by 25 to 35 mph winds with low relative humidity.

Authorities said 23 structures were destroyed or heavily damaged. No one was killed and one person was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, but the entire town of 100 people had to be evacuated.

Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022
Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022. Photo by Cooper County Fire Protection District

The fire spread into land managed by Big Muddy Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

Interstate 70 was closed due to smoke for about two hours Saturday evening as the 3,000-acre fire was burning.

The Missouri Statewide Mutual Aid system was activated and more than 50 fire departments from  across the state responded.

Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022
Wooldridge Fire, October 22, 2022. Photo by Cooper County Fire Protection District

Two Missouri firefighters entrapped and injured in grass fire

Fort Osage Fire Protection District
Fort Osage Fire Protection District

Friday afternoon a fire that started in an outbuilding near Buckner, Missouri had spread to several acres when a brush truck operated by the Fort Osage Fire Protection District became surrounded by heavy smoke.

The crew left the truck and attempted to escape from the area, announcing “May Day” on the radio. Other crews immediately came to their aid but two of the personnel on the brush truck were injured, and the truck was destroyed.

One of the firefighters was released from the hospital Friday night and the other remains in serious condition.

The fire ultimately grew to 15 acres and destroyed several small outbuildings before being brought under control at 4:05 p.m. Friday. Multiple homes were endangered but were saved by firefighters.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.

Forest Service needs help identifying thieves who stole Osbourne Fire Finder

From a lookout tower near Bunker, Missouri

Mark Twain NF thieves, 2021
Mark Twain NF thieves, 2021.

The Mark Twain National Forest needs your help in identifying individuals seen in photos and videos stealing from the Marcoot Lookout Tower near Bunker, Missouri in 2021. They are suspected of removing the Osborne Fire Finder, an essential device which assists lookouts in pinpointing the exact location of smoke cross referenced with a map. They are historical items and are very difficult to replace.

Example of Osbourne Fire Finder
Example of an Osbourne Fire Finder.

If you have any information that can help catch these thieves, please call the Mark Twain National Forest’s Patrol Captain Casey Hutsell at 573-341-7463.

Mark Twain NF thieves, 2021
Mark Twain NF suspects, 2021.
Mark Twain NF thieves, 2021
Mark Twain NF suspect, 2021.

Several videos of the thieves are posted on the Forest’s Facebook page in the comment section of the post about this incident.

After photos were posted about a burglary at a lookout tower in Oregon in August, one of the suspects was arrested and later indicted by a Grand Jury. In that case the thieves stole batteries, electronic equipment, and solar panels used to power the tower’s fire detection camera.

Satellite image of fires in Arkansas, March 5, 2020

Fires also detected in eastern OK and southeast MO

fires and smoke in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri
At 4:14 p.m. CST the GOES 16 satellite detected fires and smoke in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. NASA data, processed by Wildfire Today.

At 4:14 p.m. CST on March 5 the GOES 16 satellite detected fires and smoke in Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, and southeast Missouri. It is difficult to tell if they are wildfires, prescribed fires, or agricultural burning, but most of them appear to in forested areas.

The March 5 prediction for Red Flag Warnings designated areas of enhanced wildfire danger north and northwest of Arkansas.

wildfires Red Flag Warnings, March 5, 2020
Red Flag Warnings, March 5, 2020.

Fort Osage National Historic Landmark damaged by wildfire

The Fort will be closed indefinitely while repairs are made.

Above: Some of the structures at Fort Osage National Historic Landmark were damaged by a wildfire. (Credit for all photos: Fort Osage NHL)

(Originally published at 2:55 p.m. MT February 23, 2018)

Several of the structures at Fort Osage National Historic Landmark near Sibley, Missouri were damaged by a wildfire February 18. The fire started along the bank of the Missouri River and ran up the steep slope causing damage to a number of historic buildings (map). Strong winds and dry conditions  helped it spread to the replica of the fort that stood there in 1812.

Photos show the wooden shake shingles burning on at least two buildings. Jackson County spokesperson Marshanna Hester said county parks staff found that none of the structures will have to be demolished and can be repaired, but the officers’ quarters suffered significant interior damage.

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

From Wikipedia:

During their famous ascent up the Missouri River to find the Northwest Passage, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark noted the spot in June 1804, as they camped for the night just across the river:

“high commanding position, more than 70 feet above high-water mark, and overlooking the river, which is here but of little depth…”

William Clark led a team in September 1808 back to the site to begin construction of Fort Osage. In November 1808 Pierre Chouteau negotiated the Treaty of Fort Clark with certain members of the Osage Nation, for the fort to be built for the protection of the Osage.

Archaeologists rediscovered the foundations of Fort Osage in the 1940s. The station was rebuilt to portray Fort Osage as it was in 1812 by using the preserved surveys created by William Clark and others, making restoration to exact specifications possible. The rebuilt post is known as Fort Osage National Historic Landmark and is owned and operated by the Jackson County Parks and Recreation.

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

satellite photo Fort Osage National Historic Landmark
Satellite photo of Fort Osage National Historic Landmark. Google Earth.
satellite photo Fort Osage National Historic Landmark
Satellite photo in 3-D, looking south. Google Earth.