A teenage boy was charged with third-degree arson after he allegedly launched a firework that ignited a 28-acre blaze in Idaho on Saturday, police claim.
The unidentified 16-year-old reportedly set off a mortar-style firework. As a result, two fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had to respond and fight the blaze at around 9 o’clock Saturday night, according to a statement from the Eagle Police Department. The blaze was named the Hartley fire, and it reportedly took more than three hours for the crews to finally put it out.
“Ada County Sheriff’s deputies developed evidence a group of teenage boys were riding in an SUV in the BLM land just before the fire started when one of the boys announced he had a mortar-style firework that he wanted to light off,” the police department wrote in a statement. “The other boys told him not to, because it might start a fire in the area.” (RELATED: News Censorship On Facebook Is Endangering Wildfire Evacuees In Canada, Residents Say)
The boys attempted to put out the fire, but were unsuccessful in their efforts, per the statement. When the police and fire crews arrived, the suspect reportedly got out of the SUV and ran away. Police reportedly found the boy a short while later by a canal in the area and placed him into custody. Police then reportedly took him to the Ada County Juvenile Detention Center.