Trial begins for couple charged in 2015 Willow wildfire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A trial has begun for two Anchorage residents charged with causing a 2015 wildfire that burned 55 homes in Willow.

Anchorage television station KTUU (https://bit.ly/2oP3FEH) reports attorneys made opening statements Thursday in Palmer in the trial of 61-year-old Greg Imig and 43-year-old Amy DeWitt.

Prosecutor Eric Senta says Imig and DeWitt cut trees and burned brush in three debris piles despite high burn conditions.

He says the burn piles were not built in safe areas and were not extinguished properly. He says an unattended fire escaped and started the wildfire.

Defense attorney Kevin Fitzgerald says the state will not prove that his clients’ burn piles were the source of the wildfire.

He says they acted responsibly by calling 911 when they realized that a fire was advancing toward their property.

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Information from: KTUU-TV, https://www.ktuu.com