ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604290042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Authorities obtained juvenile petitions Friday charging two Woodrow Wilson Middle School students with carelessly damaging property by fire - a misdemeanor - in connection with a blaze Thursday that burned about 5 acres of woods.
Claytor Lake Park manager Richard Johnson said ice-storm damage from 1994 has made woodlands around the lake 10 times more susceptible to fire. Fallen trees and branches litter the forest floor, rotting and drying. The danger will not subside for years to come, he said.
The fire that burned woods surrounding the Claytor Lake Trail started about 10:45 a.m. from firecrackers the Roanoke students lighted. Johnson said that under normal conditions he did not think the children's play would have started a fire of this magnitude.
"The incident was very innocent; it was in no way malicious," Johnson said.
The students are very remorseful, Johnson said. Punishment for the fire will be handled in an informal manner, working with the children's parents and the school principal, he said.
The formal charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum $250 fine.
Woodrow Wilson's assistant principal, Becky Kahila, said the school has disciplined the students, but she would not describe the punishment. The students are considering planting trees or volunteer work at the park to make amends, she said.
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB