Oregon Firefighter Charged For Arsons

By Bill Johnson Published May 31, 2002 12:50 pm Updated Jan 31, 2009 05:27 pm

A man who spent 20 seasons fighting wildfires for the Oregon Department of Forestry faces arson charges for allegedly starting six wildfires in southern Oregon last summer.

Bail was set at $15,000 for 39-year-old Scott Wayne Rodgers of Eagle Point yesterday during his arraignment in Jackson County Circuit Court on six counts of arson. He was arrested May 15.

Rogers lived in the Department of Forestry guard station near Butte Falls last summer when he allegedly set the fires from June through September, and had fought fire for the department for 20 seasons.

Deputy District Attorney Tim Bernack says all the fires were kept small by firefighters.The Oregon Department of Forestry fights wildfires on state and private lands and federal lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.