FRESNO (KRON) — A convicted marijuana grower has been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for starting a wildfire that burned part of the Sequoia National Forest in Central California.
46-year-old Edgardo Fournier-Nigaglioni, of Perris, California was sentenced Tuesday for his role in the large-scale marijuana grow operation on federal land in Kern County, and also for his role in starting the Nicolls Fire.
Also with the prison sentence, Fournier-Nigaglioni was also ordered to pay a $6.5 million fine.
The fire, which started on July 11, burned more 2 square miles in the mountains northeast of Bakersfield.
According to court documents, Fournier-Nigaglioni helped to water and tend more than 2,000 marijuana plants in the Smith Canyon area of the Sequoia National Forest.