Mentally ill and a loner, Steven Emory Butcher camped in Southern California's forests because he didn't like to be around people, according to a federal prosecutor.
But his carelessness with campfires started two wildfires, one in 2002 and another last year, that scorched a combined 162,000 acres of wild land in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and cost more than $78 million to suppress, federal authorities said.
On Tuesday, prosecutors announced that Butcher, 48, had been indicted on eight charges, including two felony counts that could each bring up to five years in prison. He was arrested Monday and is being held without bail.
Butcher is among 10 individuals and businesses facing federal charges of accidentally starting wildfires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres of chaparral and forest land in Southern California since 2002.
All of the charges were filed in the last week, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph O. Johns, who is overseeing the prosecutions.
Among the government's cases is that of a Santa Maria woman who allegedly lighted a "signal" fire after becoming separated from her boyfriend during a hike, workers whose equipment allegedly threw off sparks, and two men who allegedly ignited a blaze while target shooting.
Federal prosecutors said the charges are intended to raise awareness about how easily a wildfire can burn out of control in the region's tinder-dry mountains. That is especially true as the area heads into late summer parched from a lack of rain.
Only 3.21 inches of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles last season, the lowest on record. The situation is the same all across Southern California.
"In past years we might not have used U.S. attorney resources to prosecute cases like these," Johns said. "But we want to drive home the point that this is a high-alert time."
Even as the indictments were being handed down, the Zaca wildfire north of Santa Barbara was burning for a second month in the Los Padres National Forest. The fire, which has charred 75,000 acres and cost $53 million to fight, was started by ranch workers making repairs.
Ventura County Fire Chief Bob Roper, warily tracking the wildfire's creep toward populated Ojai on Tuesday, said he welcomed the federal government's aggressive approach.
"There needs to be more personal responsibility by individuals when they are out in these hazardous areas," Roper said. "The cost of fighting fires is tremendous, and those tax dollars could be spent on recreational purposes instead of fire suppression."
