Rapid City Man Sentenced for Causing a Fire on U.S. Forest Service Land

RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man charged with Causing a Fire pleaded guilty and was sentenced on February 17, 2023, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann.

Dillon Rose, age 23, was ordered to pay $16,704 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service, Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, a $500 fine, and $10 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The conviction stems from an incident that took place on March 6, 2021, when Rose, who had gone to the Agate Beds on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands to hunt for agates and other rocks, left the authorized trails and got his truck stuck in a creek bed. During one of the attempts to get out, Rose’s truck fuel line ruptured. The leaking gas and heat from the engine started a fire that burned approximately 2,600 acres of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. Rose did not immediately report the fire to authorities.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges.