JIM THORPE, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — In a news conference on the morning of January 30, the Carbon County District Attorney’s Office revealed new details in a string of fires that set parts of the county ablaze last year.
The District Attorney’s Office believes a 17-year-old boy is responsible for 19 fires that happened between March and November. The teenager is being charged with 19 counts of arson (endangering of persons), 19 counts of risking a catastrophe, and 19 counts of recklessly endangering another person, among other charges.
“Because of the nature of them and being so close together over a short period of time, we started tying things in together and determined that they were lit. That they were incendiary in nature, and then that prompted a further investigation by DCNR and the Franklin Township Detectives,” said Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek.
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One of the fires happened in Packerton on Easter weekend. That fire burned 560 acres and cost taxpayers around $580,000 in damages. Foresters with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources say that blazes and others were difficult to manage…