Volunteer Firefighter Gets Jail in Utah Arson Cases

An 18-year-old volunteer firefighter from Elk Ridge has been ordered to 180 days in jail after he was convicted of setting fires in central Utah this summer.

The Daily Herald reports Kade Johnson was sentenced Monday for the fires started in June and July. He’s getting credit for 90 days already served and likely has only three more months behind bars.

Utah County officials say six fires were set in Loafer Canyon between Elk Ridge and Woodland Hills between June 25 and July 2. Johnson was charged for three of them.

The fires were small and quickly extinguished.

Johnson’s lawyer, Barbara Gonzales, said her client liked the praise he got when he extinguished fires and so he kept starting them. She also said he suffers from ADHD.