A press conference was held at the Bannock County Sheriff's office Monday afternoon to discuss the cause of the Charlotte Fire.
"We do believe that this was man made, we do not have the exact cause on how that was done, there are three or four places where it may have started. We do not see any criminal intent, we believe this was caused by accidental man made causes, " said Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen.
The team agrees that the cause is not fireworks, and because criminal negligence is not considered a factor the case is being closed.
A team of 17 investigators from the local, state and federal level worked together to determine the cause of the fire, which destroyed 66 homes on Thursday, June 28.
"Everything is consistent with an accidental man caused fire," Nielsen added.
Nielsen adds that the case has been thoroughly investigated, and that if new evidence is uncovered that points to negligence the case will be reopened.
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(4) comments
A huge waist of money and time to find out that there was no criminal basis behind that fire? Man made does not equal criminal negligence, so finding out and having it decided by a large group of separate people was a very wise decision.
This has nothing to do with being "LDS" or "Republican" . It's the difference between some idiot playing with fire, or a car backfiring while driving and sparking some dry brush unknowingly to the driver. The investigators did a great job and made the right call.
lol....it took 17 investigators to figure that out? Whoever decided that we needed so many people working on one case should have their pay docked. That was a HUGE waste of money and time. I hope the person that made the decision to have so many people involved apologizes to the victims of the fire. That money could have went to them. lol.....we need new leadership if that is the kind of actions that our leaders are taking. If it was the sheriff, he needs demoted.[censored]
This feels like another: "protect members of the dominant religious/political group".
How about an ISJ interview with the owner/family where the fire started? What can we learn from them?
How about reporting on the taxpayer funded fire investigation results?
17 investigators x 25.00 hr, x how many days and now the Sheriff is unable or unwilling to give a cause of the fire. Is it possible that of those 17 officers only 1 or 2 have specific training related to fire causes. Is this another one of Nielsen's lets throw everything at it, have the taxpayer foot the bill for over time and then wine when it comes to budget time when he tells everyone that there is nothing in the budget. Or when he is faced with another murder or large scale incident, he will request more funding from the Commissioners who then increase our tax base?
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