Friends fueled blaze, deputies say

Punctured tank on Jeep spread Pulaski County fire further

— A group of friends literally added fuel to a fire that went on to consume more than 5 acres of timber in west Pulaski County on Sunday night, investigators said.

Pulaski County sheriff’s office investigators said Jacob Harter, 18, and three of his friends used his .22-caliber rifle to take target practice shortly before 8 p.m. at a mason jar full of gasoline, which they placed next to a small grass fire they started at the end of Berry Patch Lanenear Roland.

Harter hit the jar and spread the fire, which was fueled further when one of his friends punctured the gas tank on his Jeep as he tried to put out the fire by running over it, according to deputies’ reports.

“We were jumping on [the fire], flinging our shirts at it, we tried everything we could to put it out,” Harter said. “We didn’t have the resources to extinguish it.”

Harter said the fire was an accident, something that he hoped could be chalked up asa youth-riddled mistake.

He was cited for violating the county’s burn ban ordinance, and according to county statutes, could face as much as a $500 fine.

“I’m trying to just pass this on,” Harter said. “We’ve never done anything like this before. And we’re not going to do anything like this again.”

Harter said he and his friends were shooting his rifle at the end of Berry Patch Lane when one of his friends had the idea to shoot a jar containing gasoline.

“That idea came from one of my buddies. ... I tried to put a stop to it but they wanted to mess around,” Harter said. “That’s where things went wrong.”

Neither Harter nor deputies could explain why the group set the glass jar next to a fire they’d already set.

After Harter shot the jar, the group tried to stomp out the fire, and Harter said he burned his leg trying get the nascent blaze under control. He said he ran down the hill back to his house to grab some water, but by the time he got back, the fire was out of control.

One of Harter’s friends, Paul Kanatzar, hopped into his 2005 Jeep, which Harter said had wide wheels that are good for snuffing out grass fires.

Kanatzar tried to roll over the fire himself, but his Jeep slammed into a tree stump, which stuck the Jeep andpunctured the gas tank, dumping the vehicle’s fuel into the approaching fire.

Investigators said the Jeep was consumed in the fire and said to be a total loss.

“This was not meant to happen,” Harter said.

It took 22 firefighters and a bulldozer to control the fire, which investigators said burned anywhere from 5-8 acres of dry timber.

Investigators didn’t know how much property damage the fire caused, and calls to the property owners, Deltic Timber, were not returned.

Sheriff ’s spokesman Lt. Chris Ameling said the burn ban is still in effect in Pulaski County.

The ban was in effect last Wednesday when a 19-year-old and three juveniles admitted to throwing fireworks out their window, blowing up a mailbox and starting a series of wildfires, including a 20-acre blaze around Rahling Road.

As of Monday afternoon, Ameling said no charges hadbeen filed in that case.

According to the Arkansas Forestry Commission, 44 counties in the state are under a burn ban.

Office of Emergency Management spokesman Chad Stover said fireworks, discarded cigarettes and even people playing with guns and gasoline pose a serious threatin a state that saw 21 wildfires burn up more than 900 acres over the weekend.

“Since everything is dry ... people need to know that even their lawns are susceptible,” Stover said. “Dead branches, dead trees on the property, gutters that aren’t cleaned out, those can take down a house pretty quickly.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 06/26/2012

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