UINTAH COUNTY, Utah, Aug. 8, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Attorney General’s office has charged a Utah Highway Patrol trooper with arson for intentionally setting the Maeser wildfire.
Rex Olsen was charged Tuesday in Vernal’s 8th District Court with the crime, which is a second-degree felony; and with a wildland fire prevention violation, a class B misdemeanor.
According to charging documents, Olsen admitted to starting the Maeser fire on June 9. The statement said the fire was sparked by “a delayed ignition device constructed to ignite a fire using the cigarette as a timed fuse.”
“I located and reviewed video evidence at a local gas station that showed
Rex Olsen purchasing the type of cigarette used at the scene to start the fire,” investigator Jason Curry said in the document.
“I also obtained GPS based location data from Olsen’s patrol car that showed he was in the area where the fire began at the time the ignition device was placed and the fire was started … I conducted an in-person interview with Olsen. During this interview, Olsen stated and acknowledged that he alone was the person responsible for intentionally igniting the Maeser fire on June 9th, and that he did so because he wanted to feel the excitement of it.”
The wildfire burned about 1,000 acres, and forced residents to evacuate. Maeser’s population is estimated at about 3,600. It is 4.5 miles northwest of Vernal, population 10,680.
If convicted of felony arson, Olsen faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
