The attorney for a man accused of starting the most destructive wildfire in recent Minnesota history says his client has killed himself.
Attorney Mark Larsen says Stephen Posniak, 64, died Tuesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Washington, D.C., home.
Posniak had pleaded not guilty to charges that he allowed his campfire to burn out of control in May 2007 — sparking a fire that burned 118 square miles in Minnesota and Canada.
Posniak camped on Ham Lake and started a trash fire on the morning of May 5, 2007, then left the fire unattended, the indictment says.
The fire burned for more than a week and destroyed nearly 150 buildings worth more than $10 million.
Authorities say $11 million was spent to put out the blaze, which was rated the most destructive in Minnesota since 1918. Nobody was killed or seriously injured.