People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is asking San Juan County Attorney Mitchell Maughan to add animal cruelty counts against the man charged in connection with the Deer Creek Fire.

The July wildfire burned nearly 18,000 acres of public and private land in the La Sal Mountains, southeast of Moab, destroying 13 structures and causing more than $24 million in damage.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Oct. 15 to Maughan, PETA urged his office to pursue additional charges against Scott Carrier, who faces four misdemeanor counts related to the blaze: reckless burning, abandoned fire, causing catastrophe and violating stage one fire restrictions. The group said catastrophic fires like Deer Creek’s not only destroy homes and landscapes but also “terrorize, injure, kill, and displace c

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