Man faces charges in fireworks blaze

A Carson City man bailed out of jail Monday after allegedly starting an 11-acre fire Saturday night in Carson River Canyon.

Jay Summerville, 25, is to appear July 25 in Carson City Justice Court for a preliminary hearing on charges of felony destruction of vegetation by fire caused by gross negligence; misdemeanor failure to guard or extinguish a fire; and possession of fireworks.

Fire crews were called to the canyon at 10:20 p.m. Saturday on a reported brush fire. Carson City deputies were told a GMC pickup truck was seen leaving the area just after the fire was reported. Officers said that when they stopped Summerville, he was driving a GMC pickup filled with five others off Brunswick Canyon Road.

When questioned, Summerville told authorities that he and friends had been shooting off fireworks and "one of them shot across the river and ignited brush," according to the arrest report.

Officers also recovered a box of fireworks from the vehicle, the report states.

Fire Chief Stacey Giomi said crews from the Carson City Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District responded.

"He was using fireworks, which he shouldn't have been using ... at all, and he was using them a fashion that completely disregarded the environment we're in," said Giomi. "It's just mind-boggling to me how someone can watch the news or have any common sense about where we live and still do that."

Giomi said Summerville could be liable for the costs of fighting the fire, which is estimated in the tens of thousands of dollars.