Firefighter accused of arson

SALMON, Idaho – A federal firefighter has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson, accused of convincing a friend to set a brush fire on the outskirts of Salmon.

Levy Miller, 21, was being held in the Lemhi County Jail on $30,000 bond, officials said.

Miller, a Salmon resident, has worked for the local Bureau of Land Management office as a firefighter for about two years. He was charged in a blaze that charred a half-acre of brush in the Smedley subdivision on Aug. 13.

Police say Miller may have been trying to create work for federal fire crews.

Before Miller worked for the Interior Department agency, he volunteered with the North Fork Fire Department. Lemhi County Sheriff Sam Slavin said authorities are investigating a series of arson-caused fires that broke out about 20 miles north of Salmon in Salmon-Challis National Forest in 2003 to see if there are any similarities.