BOISE -- A Boise man will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution after a judge ruled conclusively Tuesday afternoon that he set off the firework that sparked the massive Table Rock Fire last summer.
Taylor Kemp, 19, already pleaded guilty to unlawful use of fireworks in February. However, his defense team contended that although Kemp had been lighting fireworks in the prohibited area the night the wildfire started, there was not enough evidence that it was his Roman candle – as opposed to a bolt of lightning or a firework someone else lit – that started the blaze.
The stakes were high. The misdemeanor to which Kemp pleaded guilty can carry fines, or even jail time. But a finding that Kemp caused the 2,600-acre blaze means he will likely be responsible for more than $400,000 in restitution for firefighting costs, as well as damages for the single house that burned to the ground before fire crews could reach it.
The defense called several witnesses Tuesday, beginning with 18-year-old Tierra Lutz of Kuna, who said she was lying in bed when she saw an acquaintance from school post a video on Snapchat. In the video, a man lights the fuse of a firework just before it tips over onto its side and ignites.
“When he lit it, it fell down right before it went off and it shot into the grass,” she testified.
A short time later, the same teenager posted a second video showing her and several other people driving down from Table Rock, with flames visible in the background. Lutz said she knew where the group was because the iconic Table Rock cross was also visible in the videos.
Defense attorney Donald Price argued the Snapchat videos are evidence of another group shooting off fireworks the night the fire began.
The defense also brought in a paid expert witness, John Scrivner of Spokane, who testified that he believed the investigators in the case did not follow proper protocol because they were unable to determine a precise origin point.
He also argued that the number of fireworks found in the five-acre zone where the fire started made it nearly impossible to identify which one of them started the fire.
In a frequently-testy cross-examination with prosecutors, however, Scrivner acknowledged he had never been up to Table Rock, had not spoken with first-responders or the fire investigators and had glossed over UTM coordinates given as the fire’s origin point because he assumed they were not important.
Prosecutor Tamera Kelly also charged that Scrivner had written in his report that 52 firework pieces were found at the site, even though the real number was much lower. The expert had received 52 photographs showing firework pieces, but many of the photographs showed the same piece of evidence from different angles, Kelly said.
The last witness for the defense was Clifford Lawrence, an Uber driver who said he had just picked up a passenger the night of June 29 when he saw lightning strike the foothills from about five miles away.
“I saw a bolt of lightning like I’ve never seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot of lightning,” he said.
A short time later, Lawrence said, he spotted an orange glow as flames crested the ridge.
The witness said he did not call 911 or contact authorities, but continued to pick up riders for Uber and watched as the flames burned throughout the night.
Lawrence said he was surprised at Kemp’s arrest, and approached a Boise Police officer several months after the fire, telling the officer about the lightning he had seen. The officer told him the Ada County Sheriff’s Office was handling the investigation, so he later approached a deputy he saw in a sheriff's office car, Lawrence said.
At the deputy’s direction, he called in a tip to Crime Stoppers, but never heard back, he said.
Lawrence had not been in contact with the defense throughout the case. He said he saw a news article about Kemp’s sentencing early Tuesday morning, and got in contact with the defense attorneys just before the hearing started, in time to testify.
Kemp, who was not charged in the case until September 2016, called KTVB in the early hours of June 30 as the blaze continued to spread. He purported to be a witness to the start of the blaze, saying he had seen “clearly wasted” teenagers start the fire with a firework, and then drive away.
"I was basically just stomping it out, trying to pull up weeds, make a barrier around it: Typical brush fire protocol," he told KTVB.
Deputies interviewed Kemp the same day. He admitted to shooting off fireworks in the foothills during a second interview Aug. 25.
Within days, Kemp backtracked, saying his confession had been coerced by the detectives who interviewed him.
Kelly dismissed that idea, telling Judge James Cawthon that video of the exchange does not show Kemp being mistreated or forced to confess.
She also pointed to Kemp’s repeatedly changing story, noting that he originally told detectives that he did not have fireworks up at Table Rock. That claim later evolved to Kemp telling detectives that he did have fireworks with him, but did not light them off; that he lit them but did not start the fire; and finally that he started the fire, Kelly said.
Kelly also urged the judge to consider the testimony of two young women who testified they were driving down from Table Rock when they saw a man start the blaze. One of the women was unable to identify the firestarter; the other pointed out Kemp as the culprit, Kelly said.
Judge James Cawthon ultimately agreed, calling the testimony of the eyewitnesses "credible," and ruling that there was sufficient evidence tying Kemp to the firework that scorched the foothills and threatened hundreds of homes.
Kemp bounced his leg and stared straight ahead as the judge announced his decision.
The final restitution amount has not yet been ordered. Kemp's sentencing will continue Friday.
Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
“What we need is legislation that would help prevent fires caused by the sale of illegal fireworks in Idaho, but this sends a strong message that those who purchase illegal fireworks and set them off will be held responsible for the damage those aerial fireworks can cause. The Tablerock fire cost taxpayers $341,000 and it was a huge burden on our resources fighting this 2,500-acre fire. It also put the lives of firefighters and homeowners at risk. With wildfire season upon us it’s more important than ever that those who purchase these illegal fireworks know there are serious consequences to setting them off."
