A Tempe man charged with federal offenses for starting three fires after getting lost in a rugged and isolated area of the Coconino National Forest in May 2018 is scheduled for a court hearing later this month.
Philip Alejando Powers III reportedly admitted setting one fire in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area on May 27, 2018 and two fires the next day in an effort to attract emergency help. The fires eventually burned more than 200 acres about nine miles northwest of Sedona.
Powers was charged in June with three violations of 36 CFR 261.5(c) -causing timber to burn- each of which is punishable by up to six month imprisonment and/or up to a $5,000 fine. He is slated for a Sept. 16 status hearing with U.S. Magistrate Judge Camille Bibles.
Court records show Powers was released by Bibles on his own recognizance following a June 9 initial appearance. In the meantime, he is banned from the Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott, and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
In April, U.S. Forest Service Officer Mike O’Neil filed a statement of probable cause to support the violations. O’Neil notes that Powers was flown out of the wilderness area by a rescue helicopter around noon on May 28, 2018 before being transported to the Sedona Airport where he was read his Miranda warning and interviewed.
“The male stated that he was Philip Powers and he had started the fires to attract help after he had lost his direction on the trail and had run out of water,” O’Neil wrote in his statement.
According to O’Neil, Powers said he planned a day hike on May 27, 2018 but after passing Taylor Cabin he lost the trail. He then back tracked to the cabin which is a historic rancher’s shack listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Powers later used a lighter to start a fire in the area “hoping to attract help,” the statement notes.
The statement also notes Powers said he started hiking the next morning but stopped when he began to suffer cramps. He lit a second fire about 9:00 a.m. when he realized he could not make the approximate 8-mile distance to his car.
Powers said later that morning he dropped his pack and started out again. After a while he noticed an airplane circulating the area and then a helicopter.
“Powers, who was dressed in green camouflage, stated that he lit a third fire…in an attempt to attract the firefighters to his location as well as waving an orange cloth,” O’Neil wrote.
Nothing in the public records of Powers’ case explains why federal officials took nearly two years to proceed with criminal charges. Powers is represented by Sarah Erlinder of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Flagstaff.
