GREAT FALLS, Mont. (NMB) – A Canadian man has been federally charged based on allegations that he started an 11,000 acre wildfire near Zortman in 2017 that resulted in numerous evacuations.
Darrel Lynn Swanson has been charged with misdemeanor leaving a fire unattended or unextinguished.
Court documents allege that on July 3rd, 2017, Swanson shot off fireworks in the Alder Creek drainage on BLM land after being warned by witnesses. A fire started as a result of the fireworks and Swanson fled the scene without reporting it.
The federal government spent about $5.5 million on suppressing the fire.
Swanson is scheduled to appear at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Great Falls on July 14th.
