HALLS CROSSROADS, Tenn. — According to court documents, Michael Wayne Ramsey Jr., 49, has been charged with burning personal property in the Halls Feb. 20 brush fire.
In a post on social media on Feb. 21, Rural Metro said the fire was reported off Mynatt Road near a cell phone tower. It also said that no structures were threatened.
Updates from the court documents revealed that a man learned about the fire on his property and after arriving at it, could see Ramsey Jr. sitting in a metal tree stand towards the back of his property. The tree stand was around 15 feet tall and had a fire around the base. The victim then called 911 after attempting to get Ramsey Jr. to come down from the stand before he got hurt.
After the Rural Metro Fire Department and the Knox County Sherriff's office arrived at the fire, the victim said that he did not know Ramsey Jr. and had not permitted him to be on his property. Ramsey Jr. then admitted to starting the fire by sitting in the tree stand and smoking cigarettes.
The documents said he disposed of the cigarette butts onto the dry leaves at the base of the tree, starting the fire which then "extended to nearby combustibles."
The fire reportedly grew to around five acres before being fully contained and extinguished. No injuries were reported.
It said Ramsey Jr. was charged with burning personal property or land, and said he started the fire and made no attempts to extinguish it.