A CIGARETTE lighter was used to set a container filled with stolen diesel on fire, sparking a costly blaze which ripped through pine plantation near Nundle for weeks in October 2019.
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A young man, aged 17 at the time of the offending, was due to front a hearing on Thursday but Tamworth Children's Court heard a last-minute agreement had been reached.
The man cannot be named for legal reasons but admitted during his closed court appearance to charges of intentionally causing fire and being reckless as to its spread, as well as larceny.
The court heard another person was with him at the time and each had blamed the other for igniting the blaze.
A set of amended facts revealed the young man admitted "they were acting in a joint criminal enterprise" and accepted "his role in the lighting of the fire".
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Magistrate Julie Soars ordered a juvenile justice report ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case to July.
The set of facts show the company contracted to fell trees in the Nundle State Forest, near Hanging Rock, packed up about midday on October 26 that year due to high fire danger.
Machinery - including a logging excavator - was left fuelled up at a landing site.
The young man admitted to washing out a 1000L liquid-carrying container before loading it onto the back of a Toyota Hilux and driving into the forest.
He then used a piece of hose to siphon diesel into it from the excavator, adding more from the Hilux's tank before dragging the container across the road.
A cigarette lighter was then used by one of the men to set the container on fire, and the pair drove off.
Police facts show operators staying in Nundle noticed a glow coming from the hills about 6am on October 27. The travelled up and found flames on the northern side of Goddos Road.
The fuel cap and sieve from the excavator were discovered near the container and operators believed about 200L of diesel was missing from the machine.
The firefighting effort was taken over by the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and the blaze burnt "in a controlled manner" for a number of weeks.
The Forestry Corporation estimated more than 1000 hectares of pine plantation was left charred, leaving a damage bill of more than $1.13 million.
Police and RFS investigators forensically examined the scene after being alerted on October 28, 2019, and found the blaze had started at the container.
Detectives had a breakthrough after a year. A public appeal for information and CCTV images were released.
The then teenager was arrested at a home outside the region on May 25 last year.
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Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
