A 17-year-old Pine River boy and a 20-year-old Longville man were arrested about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and have since been charged with wildfire arson after allegedly setting a number of fires along Highway 84 between Pine River and Longville, Cass County Sheriff Randy Fisher said Thursday.
Cass County deputies, Longville police, Minnesota DNR and medical personnel responded to the fires, which burned grass, brush and trees in the ditch of the highway Wednesday. No buildings were damaged and no injuries were reported.
Fisher said a motorist using a cell phone reported the activity after she saw the suspects throwing fireworks from their vehicle and starting the fires. Area residents and the DNR were able to put out the fires, the sheriff said.
Fisher said Longville police officers and Cass County deputies were in the area and after getting a description of the suspects and their vehicle Longville police stopped the car. The two suspects admitted to setting the fires by throwing fireworks out the window of the vehicle.
Fisher said the 17-year-old from Pine River is the subject of a juvenile petition for wildfire arson and has since been released from custody. Garrick Hammond, 20, Longville, has been charged with wildfire arson and remains in custody.
Fisher said while none of the fires caused significant damage, the situation could have been a lot worse if the alert motorist hadn't called authorities and if residents and the DNR hadn't quickly extinguished the fires.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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