A Duluth man accused of leaving a campfire on his property unattended has been cited in connection with the Camp House fire in May that burned more than 12,000 acres and destroyed upward of 150 structures near Brimson, Minn.
Parker John Wilson, 27, was charged with a misdemeanor following the Department of Natural Resources’ investigation into the cause of the fire. Formal charges were filed Friday, in a combined effort of the DNR and the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, Wilson’s unattended fire was on property he owns along Hwy. 44 in northeastern Minnesota. According to a DNR news release, any person who starts and fails to control or put out a fire before it damages public or private property is guilty of a misdemeanor under state law.
The Camp House fire was detected May 11 and grew quickly, helped along by dry, windy conditions and large amounts of dead timber. It marked the start of a destructive fire season in the region; the Jenkins Creek fire in the Superior National Forest and the Munger Shaw fire near Cotton followed soon after.
The Camp House fire proved to be the most destructive of the three to property. The three blazes took nearly two weeks and hundreds of firefighters to contain.
This isn’t Wilson’s first fire-related charge. In August 2020, he was convicted of a petty misdemeanor in St. Louis County District Court for setting a fire near “The Deeps,” a popular Duluth swimming hole.
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