Local man charged with setting wildfires
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Forest rangers have charged a local man in connection with three small wildfires set in early April.
“Chad Hamilton, 23, of Presque Isle, was charged April 22 with one count of felony aggravated criminal mischief and three counts of criminal mischief for allegedly starting three wildfires in April in the city of Presque Isle,” said Ranger Lt. Bill Greaves, Maine Forest Service.
“Hamilton became the focus of the investigation of the fires early on,” indicated Ranger Steve Wipperman, MFS, the lead investigator on the cases.
Each of the fires occurred near a recreational trail in the area.
“All the fires took place in the city adjacent to the town’s ATV trail,” said Wipperman.
MFS officials were able to connect Hamilton to each of the fires based on evidence collected at each site.
“Physical evidence found at the fire scenes tied Hamilton to the fires,” said Wipperman.
Officials were also able to use footage from a business surveillance camera to aid in the investigation.
Hamilton is accused of allegedly starting three small wildfires.
“The first occurred on the evening of April 7 and was located on the ATV trail known as the Maysville Connector, in which a quarter acre was burned. The second was on the morning of April 13, in a location between the Veterans of Foreign Wars building and Bonville’s trailer park. The fire burned a half acre of brush before being contained,” said Wipperman. “The third wildfire also was located on the ATV trail and started on the evening of April 16. That fire burned nearly an acre of grass and brush.”
The third fire took place behind Walmart.
“The third fire was in a grassy section behind the store. Someone in the parking lot spotted smoke over the building and reported it,” said Greaves. “If not for the quick response of the local firefighters, this might have resulted in damage to the store or worse.”
Greaves said the fires were reported and extinguished very quickly by Presque Isle firefighters, so damage was limited to only brush.
“There were structures near all three scenes. We consider any wildfire to be dangerous,” Greaves said, crediting the Presque Isle Fire Department in making some key observations when arriving at one of the fires, as well as preserving some scene evidence.
“The PIFD firefighters were ‘Johnny on the Spot’ in all cases. The PIFD serves as the first response for all wildfires in the Presque Isle area,” said Greaves. “The Forest Service really appreciates what the department does in such cases.”
Hamilton is scheduled to be arraigned in Presque Isle District Court in July. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on the aggravated criminal mischief charge and up to one year on each of the criminal mischief charges.
The Maine Forest Service has responded to nearly 300 wildfires this season — more than triple the amount for this time last year. The fires have been keeping MFS forest rangers, ranger pilots and local fire crews very busy.
Anyone with information on these or any other suspicious wildfires is asked to call the Maine wildfire arson hotline at 800-987-0257. For more information on the Maine Forest Service, vist www.maineforestservice.gov.
