February 15,  2010

            LANSING -  Attorney General Mike Cox today filed felony criminal charges against a railroad company accused of knowingly operating an unsafe train engine, causing fires in 2008 that burned down 1,300 acres of forest, several homes and other buildings in Grayling.  Damages are estimated at nearly one-million dollars.

Lake State Railway, Inc (LSR) of Saginaw is accused of starting the April 24, 2008 wildfire near the City of Grayling and another fire in Arenac County by operating a train engine that threw burning embers from the exhaust system because it was not equipped with standard safety equipment called spark arresters.

"In the battle to attract and retain jobs, Michigan's environment is one of the State's real competitive advantages, and that means we have to fight to protect it," said Cox.  "When a company ignores standard safety practices and threatens not only the environment but human lives, we will hold them accountable."

LSR faces two felony counts of Setting Fire to a Forest Land and two misdemeanor counts of Operating an Engine without Spark Arresters.  Each of the charges alleges violations of Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. 

Because a company is being charged, not an individual citizen, officials from LSR will be served with a Complaint and Summons and must appear before the Court.  Instead of prison time, if convicted, the Court could order the company to pay fines and full restitution, including property damage and response costs.  The fire resulted in an estimated $464,000 in timber damage, $370,000 in personal property damage and $100,000 in fire suppression costs. 

Attorney General Cox's office investigated the blaze, along with the office of Crawford County Prosecutor Everett Ayers and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. 

"Families in Crawford County have been looking for answers and thanks to the hard work of investigators from my office and that of Attorney General Mike Cox, today they have them," said Ayers. 

The company will be arraigned in 87^th District Court for the Crawford County fire and in 81^st District Court for a separate fire that started in Arenac County.  Preliminary hearings will be scheduled at arraignment. 

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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