Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Woman who lit fire to give friends work sentenced

Fire

AP Photo/The Oregonian, Randy L. Rasmussen

Firefighters stand along Highway 30 to assist back-burning efforts near The Dalles, Ore. on Friday morning, Aug. 8, 2014. Fire crews on both the ground and in the air set fires to burn off fuel sources in the path of the wind-driven Rowena fire, west of The Dalles.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A woman who set a massive wildfire on Oregon tribal lands to give her firefighter friends work has been sentenced to more than a year in prison.

Sadie Renee Johnson said in U.S. District Court in Portland on Wednesday that she suffered from alcohol and drug issues, and she promised Judge Marco Hernandez she would turn her life around during her 18-month sentence.

Johnson was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service in the fire-damaged area.

Johnson, of Warm Springs, pleaded guilty in May.

As she was riding in a car with two little brothers in July 2013, Johnson lit a small firework and threw it out the window, where it ignited brush, court records say.

She later posted "Like my fire?" to Facebook and was arrested.

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