El Paso man guilty of causing NM forest fire with toilet paper

An El Paso man pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Las Cruces to causing the Last Chance Fire in the Lincoln National Forest in April. Rodrigo Ulloa-Esquivel, 29, pleaded guilty to leaving a fire unattended, a misdemeanor for which he faces up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Ulloa-Esquivel was indicted Aug. 17 for criminal offenses related to the wildfire, which burned through the Last Chance Canyon in Eddy County for 16 days. On Friday, he admitted that, on April 24, he lit toilet paper on fire near a campsite in the Guadalupe Ranger District, even though he knew there were fire restrictions in place. High winds blew sparks from the campsite and, after unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the fire, Ulloa-Esquivel and his friends left without calling the U.S. Forest Service or other authorities to report it. When he was subsequently contacted by U.S. Forest Service investigators, Ulloa-Esquivel initially denied all knowledge of the fire. The fire consumed 53,342 acres and damaged four structures in the Sitting Bulls Recreation area before it was contained May 9, at a cost of $2.3 million and $67,500 in repairs...more

Smokey Bear Says

"Don't squeeze my Charmin or set it on fire"

"Wild bears don't use toilet paper - the fines are too high"

"Shit, Shovel & Shut up"