EAGLE, ID — A 16-year-old boy is charged with third-degree arson in connection to the Hartley fire, a wildfire just north of Eagle that burned about 28 acres on Saturday night.
The fire crews were sent out around 9 p.m. and were able to contain the fire after midnight. No buildings were damaged by the fire.
Ada County Sheriff’s deputies developed evidence that showed that a group of teenage boys drove out into the Bureau of Land Management-owned land in an SUV. Despite his peers telling him not to, one of the boys decided to fire a mortar-style firework in the wild.
The boys were unable to put out the fire. As the fire continued to get out of control, they fled the scene. One of the boys called 911 to report what happened.
When the deputies found the SUV, the boy who started the fire was not there. The deputies found him shortly after by a nearby canal. They then placed him in custody and took him to the Ada County Juvenile Detention Center.
The boy’s case is pending in Ada County Juvenile Court.
