An Ignacio man who started multiple wildland fires during the height of the drought this summer in Southwest Colorado was sentenced Friday to two months in jail and three years of supervised probation.
Elijah Rugg, 25, pleaded guilty to five counts of attempted arson, each a felony, in a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
As part of the plea agreement, Rugg must also obtain a mental health evaluation and comply with any recommended treatment, in addition to other standard terms and conditions of probation.
Rugg was arrested June 15 on suspicion of starting seven fires in unincorporated parts of La Plata County, southwest of Durango. He is also suspected of starting fires on three previous occasions: four in late May, two on June 12 and three on June 14.
At the time of the fires, much of Southwest Colorado was listed in extreme or exceptional drought.
None of the fires grew to more than 1 acre in size, and no structures were burned.
According to court records, Rugg use a lighter and an accelerant to set fire to shrubbery along county roads 310 and 319, west of Ignacio. He was caught after a Los Pinos Fire Protection District fire marshal reported finding a gas can hidden in a tree at a previous fire scene and seeing an almost identical gas can in the back of Rugg’s vehicle near the scene of one of the fires.
After being contacted by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Rugg initially denied starting the fires, but later admitted to it, according to an arrest affidavit.
He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and blacks out during PTSD episodes.
shane@durangoherald.com
