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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

19-year-old cited for starting Table Rock Fire with illegal fireworks

The Ada County Sheriff’s Office reports today that it’s cited Taylor Kemp, 19, for starting the Table Rock Fire that burned one home and threatened hundreds of others this summer. Kemp, who was interviewed by detectives June 30 and then again in August, finally admitted, police said, that he was shooting off illegal Roman candles by the road near the Table Rock gate just before midnight on June 29 when he said the wind knocked one of them over, igniting the nearby hillside. The fire burned more than 2,600 acres.

Kemp said he purchased the aerial fireworks at a fireworks stand in Elmore County. Aerial fireworks, like Roman candles and bottle rockets, are illegal to ignite anywhere in Idaho, but they can be sold legally – if the buyer claims to be buying them only for out-of-state use. The Table Rock fire has prompted fire officials from across the state to call for changing that law and banning sales of such fireworks in Idaho.

KTVB TV reported today that Kemp told them he was a witness to the start of the fire, and blamed it on a group of “clearly wasted” kids setting off fireworks; he said the kids took off and he tried to put out the fire and called authorities. You can see KTVB’s full report here. In his interview with KTVB just hours after the fire began, Kemp said he’d been up at Table Rock to “take pictures of Boise in stormy weather.”

Late Wednesday, Kemp told both KTVB and the Idaho Statesman that his confession was coerced and he maintains his innocence, sticking by his story about witnessing others igniting the fire with fireworks.

The sheriff’s office reported that Kemp has been cited for violating Ada County's fireworks code, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. In addition, Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan told KTVB the city will seek $150,000 in restitution for firefighting costs. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management also could seek restitution for its estimated $250,000 in costs for the fire.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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