Jury trial to be set for man accused of starting $34 million Brian Head fire

A Taylorsville man charged with accidentally starting the 71,000-acre Brian Head Fire — which destroyed 13 residences this summer and cost about $34 million to fight — could go to trial on the case next year.

Robert Ray Lyman, 61, was charged in July in Cedar City’s 5th District Court with one count of reckless burning, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. He also is charged with one count of class B misdemeanor failing to notify authorities or failing to obtain a permit before burning, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.

On Tuesday, Judge Keith Barnes ordered the case set for a three-day jury trial, but scheduling will not occur until sometime in January, according to a court docket entry.

In October, Lyman entered not guilty pleas and requested a trial date. He also waived his right to a preliminary hearing, where a judge would have heard evidence presented by prosecutors to determine if there was probable cause to advance the case to trial.

The fire — which started June 17 — was sparked accidentally by a man torching weeds at a Brian Head cabin owned by Lyman, authorities have said.

The blaze burrned for nearly a month and forced about 1,500 people to evacuate across Iron and Garfield counties.

During a court hearing in July, Lyman’s attorney, Andrew Deiss, said “there are charges in this case that we believe lack factual foundation.”

Deiss also told news reporters that Lyman was “distraught about the damage the fire caused,” and “grateful to the men and women, the first responders, who had to fight the fire, and those who had to deal with the aftermath.”

Lyman’s cabin, according to Iron County property records, is located next to State Route 143, slightly north and downhill from the resort town.

Burning through brush and beetle-killed timber in hot, dry conditions, the blaze initially raced south and briefly threatened to torch dozens of cabins and businesses in Brian Head. Then the fire turned northeast, where it destroyed cabins near the fishing destination of Panguitch Lake.

According to 911 calls released in July, the fire started as a weed-burning project.

“We’re trying to fight this, but it’s getting out of control. ... We need help!” a man at the cabin told an emergency dispatcher at about noon on June 17. “It’s like 50 feet by 50 feet. It’s big — we need help!”

A photograph of the cabin figures prominently on a Facebook page for Lyman, who was a longtime West High School head basketball coach and Weber State University assistant basketball coach. The Tribune named him coach of the year in 2009, when he led West High to the 4A championship.