Utah fire uncovered weapons cache, survival bunkers

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/30/utah-fire-uncovered-mans-weapons-cache-survival-bunkers.html

Utah fire uncovered man's weapons cache, survival bunkers
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
SALT LAKE CITY – A massive wildfire in southern Utah this summer uncovered scattered underground bunkers stocked with guns, grenades and food that were illegally built in the wilderness, authorities said Thursday.

The Iron County Sheriff's Office did not identify the builder of the bunkers or his motivation.

The sheriff's office said in a statement that it has been investigating since the late June fire, and prosecutors will consider filing criminal charges against the man because the bunkers were illegally constructed on government land.

The hideouts were discovered on June 27, when firefighters near the ski resort town of Brian Head heard the popping sound of ammunition exploding.

They discovered a burned cabin and nearby bunker filled with ammunition, food, explosive powder and dozens of toy grenades that had been altered with pipe fittings.

A bomb squad investigated and authorities located a man who lives in the town of Parowan about 20 minutes away, who acknowledged building the bunker and stocking the cabin.

He also told investigators he had seven or eight similar hideouts in the area that he'd built over several years.

The sheriff's office said the suspect is cooperating.

A phone message seeking more details from the sheriff's office was not immediately returned.

The sheriff's office said deputies, along with investigators from the FBI and other agencies, located and dismantled the bunkers and removed the items and ammunition. Authorities had to use helicopters to reach the remote locations.

A small cabin untouched by the wildfire contained two bunk beds, food and water, reading material and other items, along with ammunition.

Authorities said the wildfire, which destroyed 13 homes and cost some $40 million to fight, was sparked by a 61-year-old man burning weeds. He's facing charges for reckless burning and burning without a permit.

The area is in some of the same remote territory where a reclusive survivalist lived in the wilderness and burglarized cabins.

Authorities said Troy James Knapp, nicknamed the "Mountain Man," would stash weapons, dehydrated food and camping gear in the woods. Knapp was arrested in 2013 and is serving what will likely be a 10-year prison term for weapons and burglary charges.

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Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.

 

This story would have been much better with pictures.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/11/...r-make-shift-cabins/#gallery-carousel-9316303

Brian Head Fire led officials to uncover survivalist’s explosive-filled bunkers hidden near makeshift cabins











(Courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office) The remains of an explosive-filled bunker found during the Brian Head fire in sum...

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  By Mariah Noble
  · 3 days ago
  A wildfire that burned 71,000 acres in southern Utah this summer led firefighters and other officials to uncover several explosive-filled bunkers hidden near makeshift cabins illegally built by a survivalist on public land, police say.
  
  A Thursday news release from the Iron County Sheriff’s Office detailed how firefighters discovered the first bunker June 27 — 10 days after the Brian Head Fire began.
  
  While working to suppress the blaze, firefighters near Henderson Hill heard “popping sounds,” the release said. At first, they thought the popping was rocks exploding from the heat of the wildfire, but as the sounds continued for about five minutes, the crews realized it was ammunition exploding.
  
  
  After the popping stopped, the firefighters hiked to the source of the sound and found a cabin that had burned to the ground. Nearby, the release said, they found a bunker dug into the ground, containing what appeared to be novelty hand grenades that had been altered by drilling out the bottom and plugging the holes with threaded, galvanized pipe plugs. They also saw what appeared to be explosive powder, fuses and ammunition.
  
  The bunker contained a “large number” of boxes and containers used as food storage, the release said. The firefighters took photos and informed law enforcement.
  
  The discovery impacted the firefighting. Authorities deemed the items potentially dangerous to firefighters and would allow only airplanes or helicopters to suppress flames in the area.
  
  On June 30, a bomb squad from Washington County and the FBI removed the explosives from the bunker, while other officers contacted a person of interest at his home in Parowan.
  
  The person said he owned the cabin and bunker and was responsible for the explosives there. He said he’d purchased, drilled out and threaded the hand grenades and insisted they weren’t an explosive hazard to officials in the area.
  
  
  He also told officers there were seven or eight such structures — four of which were cabins with bunkers hidden nearby — throughout the area. Most contain explosives and food storage, and were built over the course of several years, he said.
  
  The man is a “survivalist,” said Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser. The man, Schlosser added, had been building and maintaining the structures for more than 30 years.