A man squatting on another’s property set a fire that turned into an 18,300-acre wildfire, prosecutors allege.
Christopher Mennealy, 51, was indicted Sept. 4 by a Wasco County grand jury on charges of second-degree arson and reckless burning, the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Monday. Mennealy allegedly set a fire near Friend, in Wasco County, while squatting on private property.
That fire became the Larch Creek fire, which ultimately burned through about 18,286 acres and cost about $14 million to contain, the district attorney’s office said. The wildfire burned about halfway between Dufur and Maupin. It was 100% contained by early August, Oregon Department of Forestry spokesperson Jessica Neujahr estimated.
Mennealy was supposed to be in court Monday for his arraignment, but he did not appear. He’s currently at large, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, the district attorney’s office said.
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