Two charged with Sauratown fire

(The Stokes News) - Two people have been charged in connection with the fire on Sauratown Mountain that started last Wednesday evening.

Charges were filed against David Rucker, 18, of Westfield, and a male juvenile, according to Jonathan Young, Stokes County ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service. Rucker appeared before the Stokes County magistrate Tuesday afternoon and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the fire without maintaining a careful watch and threatening and endangering property.

Young said the fire has been ruled accidental and was apparently caused when Rucker and the juvenile started a fire to keep themselves warm. The two attempted to put the fire out, but left it without fully getting it extinguished.

While Rucker pleaded guilty in front of a magistrate and paid a $25 fine and $120 in court costs, the charges are waivable, Young said. Juvenile petitions were sought from Juvenile Services on the juvenile involved in the case, whose age was not given.