FILLMORE, Utah — Millard County prosecutors are seeking $10.3 million in restitution from a group of people accused of starting a wildfire that torched more than 11,000 acres.
In court documents obtained by FOX 13 News, the Millard County Attorney filed notice that the state would be seeking to recover costs for fighting the Halfway Hill Fire that ignited in July outside Fillmore. The fire took weeks to extinguish. Investigators determined that the fire was caused by an unattended campfire and four people were ultimately charged with having an abandoned fire, a class A misdemeanor.
Court records show that three of the four people charged in connection with the fire have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and are awaiting sentencing. One suspect is due to go on trial in January.
"I admit that on or about July 9, 2022, I was present with friends at an outdoor fire," one of the defendants said in a statement in support of a guilty plea filed in Fillmore's 4th District Court. "I and my companions left the fire without completely extinguishing it. After we left the fire the wind rekindled the fire."
The restitution notice said the state of Utah was seeking $1.6 million, the U.S. Forest Service wanted $8.5 million and the Bureau of Land Management sought $226,000. It will be up to a judge at sentencing to determine what restitution any of the defendants might pay.
