The State - News from July 29, 1985

Two Yuba City men whose campfire started a forest fire have been charged with three misdemeanors and may face up to $3 million in damage claims. Kenneth Lesley, 29, and Jack Odell, 31, were charged with allowing a campfire to spread, burning without permission and trespassing on a railroad right of way. The two unemployed men were dredging for gold in the Sacramento River July 18 when the wind blew their campfire out of its pit. It touched off a fire north of Shasta Lake that destroyed three dwellings and 1,632 acres of valuable timberland and watershed. The men admitted responsibility for the fire, which cost $1 million to put out.