A woman has been charged with two felony counts and one misdeam- enor count following a fire near Kendrick on Aug. 20.
Sarha Nichole Kilgore, 37, was charged with one felony county of arson in the third degree, one felony count of endangering human life during arson and one misdeamenor county of trespassing after being forbidden on Aug. 25, according to court documents.
She made her initial appearance on Aug. 27 and came before Special Judge Emily Mueller on Sept. 3 for a pre-preliminary hearing, though her case was continued until Sept. 10.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Aug. 20, eight fire agencies, Lincoln County Emergency Management and four Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office units responded to
an out-of-control grass fire near county roads 840 and 3480.
While on the scene, EM Director Charlotte Brown requested that Sgt. Phil Bennett investigate an area near several piles of burning tires to attempt to determine a point of origin. He went to the south end of the fire and found a camp - fire next to a pond with a burnt tire in it, emitting a great deal of heat, which indicated the point of ori- gin of the fire. From there, it moved northwest to the tire piles.
Nearbywasanoldschool bus that had been converted into a living space. Kilgore was alleged to be living in the bus. She had been trespassed by her father, who lived on the property, several months ago and several neighbors reported alleged sightings of Kilgore going on and off the property. The bus was hidden in some trees, making it easy for anyone to stay there without detection, accord- ing to the affidavit.
The father gave permission for his home to be searched, saying that he believed Kilgore was sneaking into the house while he was at work. Sgt. Bennett and another detective went into the home and found Kilgore. They placed her under arrest for trespassing and suspecion of arson, the report said. She was then transported to the Lincoln County Jail and booked.
The fire consumed up to 35 acres of grass and woodland, seven cars, one tractor and two unoccupied outbuildings. The eight fire districts brought 17 trucks to the scene, according to the affidavit.