A woman has been charged with arson in connection with a northwest Georgia fire that burned nearly 200 acres, including the destruction of a shed and damage to a house.
Ainsley Sutton, 22, was booked into the Floyd County jail Tuesday. She faces multiple felony counts of first-degree arson, fourth-degree arson and reckless conduct, according to Floyd County police. Her attorney did not immediately return a request for comment.
The fire was started March 23 and was fully contained by the next day. It threatened dozens of homes, causing the evacuation of several families in multiple neighborhoods in the Armuchee area, a community just north of Rome.
Sutton had been hospitalized since the day of the fire for a mental evaluation.
According to a police incident report, officers got a call about the forest fire around noon. When they arrived to the area, they found flames billowing up to 10 feet high and spreading quickly through the trees.
A young woman with soot covering her face and arms told police that she started the fire by burning pine straw with a lighter, the report states.
“When I asked her why she had done this, she claimed she was angry at her dad,” the responding officer noted. “I could see that (she) was upset and scared about what she had done. She appeared remorseful and was crying.”
The officer then asked if she’d intended for the fire to spread, to which she replied, “no,” the report states.
Once the fire was put out, the extensive damage became clear. Approximately 195 acres were charred. One house received damage to its roof, and a small shed, containing a lawn mower, generator, flat-screen TV and other tools, was completely destroyed.
Another set of properties was also damaged, including 75% of a hay field along Floyd Springs Road. A small boat was destroyed and a farm truck had all four tires damaged. In addition, parts of a fence had to be cut by crews to create fire breaks. Those repairs were estimated at $5,000.
“People just need to pay attention to the weather forecast before they set a fire,” Floyd County fire Chief Troy Brock said. “We still have a lot of dead brush from the winter, but we’re getting unusually high winds in the afternoon with low humidity, (but) every day is not like that. Just pay attention to your weather forecast.”
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