File photo by Chuck Peters
Georgia Forestry Commission confirmed today it had made a case against a property owner in this fall's monster Tatum Gulf wildfire on Lookout Mountain. The case was to be heard last Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Dade Magistrate Court, but the court delayed it until Feb. 15.
"We are unaware of the reason(s) why the court was unable to hear the case last week," wrote GFC public information officer Wendy Burnett in an email to The Planet, suggesting The Planet contact the magistrate court.
At the court, Magistrate Judge Joel McCormick confirmed that property owner Linda Holder had been cited for burning without a permit and for allowing her fire to burn out of control. He said he had been unable to hear the case last Tuesday because he was called away on an urgent errand. "I had to take a person to the hospital," he said.
McCormick said that the case had erroneously been scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday when his court session does not actually begin until 10 am. He said he had in fact been present to hear the other criminal cases scheduled for that morning.
McCormick said he did not know Linda Holder.
The Planet was unable to contact Ms. Holder for comment but she is listed on Dade tax records as co-owner with Leslie Holder, both listed at a permanent address in Buckeye, Arizona, of a 3400-square-foot house at 1119 Tatum Gulf Road.
The Tatum Gulf fire was the largest and most persistent of Dade's rash of wildfires this drought-ridden autumn. It was listed as having involved 2836 acres at The Planet's last reporting. Incident reports first mention the Tatum Gulf blaze on Nov. 11, 2016, and it was still listed as only 80 percent contained at the end of the month, when heavy rains began helping to quell the flames.
Magistrate McCormick said that the charges filed against Ms. Holder are citations only that carry fines but not criminal punishment such as jail time.
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