Wood River Valley Man to Pay Private Restitution for Fire

KETCHUM, Idaho (AP) — A central Idaho man who set off fireworks that sparked a 1-mile square fire and forced the evacuation of 20 homes has been ordered to pay $8,100 in restitution.

The Idaho Mountain Express reports in a story on Wednesday that 19-year-old Mauricio Pedraza-Rodriguez received the sentence earlier this month in 5th District Court. Pedraza-Rodriguez also received a 90-day suspended jail sentence, two years of probation and 120 hours of community service.

He pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to misdemeanor malicious injury of property by fire to public lands. He started last summer's Colorado Gulch fire on July 6. The restitution is just for private property. Officials say the U.S. Bureau of Land Management spent about $300,000 fighting the fire and the Wood River Fire and Rescue about $40,000.