Perry County man fined $141,000 in Boone Forest fire

LONDON — A Perry County man was fined $141,000 Wednesday for setting a fire near the Daniel Boone National Forest and letting it burn out of control.

Ricky Sumner, 48, of Vicco, set the fire last November on private property near the national forest in the White Oak area of Leslie County, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

He was burning logging debris. Sumner said he tried to stop the fire but was unsuccessful. A statewide fire ban was in effect at the time. Summer pleaded guilty in March. He was fined in U.S. District Court in London.

The fire burned 317 acres of national forest and 225 acres of private land. The fine represents how much the Forest Service spent fighting the fire.

"The potential damage in a wildfire like this one can be catastrophic," Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Dotson said.

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