As wildfires rage across the state, Salt Lake County’s district attorney is vowing to prosecute anyone believed to be responsible for igniting a blaze — either accidentally or intentionally.

“Now is not the time to be careless with fires,” said District Attorney Sim Gill during a news conference Tuesday. “People forget there are criminal consequences for that.”

Gill made that promise just before announcing charges against a man alleged to have started a small fire last week at Salt Lake City’s Memory Grove Park.

The 43-year-old man was charged with one misdemeanor count for reckless burning that endangered human life, as well as two misdemeanors for the possession and use of drugs. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name individuals charged with lower-level offenses.

He was being held in Salt Lake County jail Tuesday, with bail set at $5,000.

The Salt Lake City Fire Department initially responded to calls of a blaze at Memory Grove Park on Friday morning. Smoke could be seen billowing out of City Creek Canyon, where the popular park honoring military veterans sits below the Utah Capitol, from miles around.

The fire consumed about a half-acre before it was extinguished by 10:15 a.m.

The charging documents released Tuesday say that a Salt Lake City police officer who had been called to investigate spoke to witnesses who reported seeing a man leaving the area, about 300 N. Canyon Road, and heading to nearby public restrooms about the same time the flames started.

The officer forced his way into the restrooms, where a man had locked himself inside and refused to leave, according to the charging documents.

The officer said he searched the man’s belongings and found a torch, as well as what appeared to be drugs that later tested positive for meth, according to the charges.

A park employee later told investigators that he had seen the same man standing in the middle of a burned portion of grass. The man had been mumbling to himself and did not respond to the park employee, the staffer told police.

A fire investigator also reported finding evidence of a campsite in the area, where the charging documents say the man seemed to have been living. Cans, wrappers and logs were used to create a campfire.

When asked if the man was experiencing homelessness, Salt Lake City Fire Chief Karl Lieb said the department doesn’t factor in whether someone’s “socioeconomic status is homeless or not, or unsheltered, or if they may have some mental illness factors” when passing information on to the district attorney to screen for charges.

The man had previously pleaded guilty to an infraction from December for camping and sleeping on public grounds. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanors after an arrest in September for loitering and trespassing.

He has a lengthy criminal history, according to court records, including guilty pleas for felonies including burglary, theft and possession of drugs, as well as misdemeanor charges for battery.

Lieb said the fire the man allegedly started was an extreme danger because it quickly spread into dry shrubs and 30-foot-tall trees in the park.

The charging documents say 15 trees were damaged and would need to be replaced; the estimated damage was $15,000.

Gill and the fire officials at Tuesday’s news conference said the case should serve as an example that they take all cases seriously. And it should be a warning, they added, to anyone starting a campfire or using fireworks this summer.

The state has had a brutal and quick start to the fire season, with six active, larger blazes burning as of Tuesday afternoon. One has burned by the University of Utah and two in central Utah have prompted evacuations.

State and federal agencies rate the fire risk across Utah to be high, with hot and dry conditions statewide. Campfire, firework and other restrictions are in place across many parts of the state.

“Everyone needs to take extreme caution this year,” Lieb said. “… It’s going to be a very busy and potentially dangerous season.”

Gill said he is prepared to take action against anyone who willfully or negligently ignites a blaze, including while celebrating the Fourth of July or Pioneer Day. He said he has an arsenal of charges available, ranging from a first-degree felony for aggravated arson to a misdemeanor, like the one filed Tuesday, for reckless burning.

Gill emphasized: “We will file criminal charges against you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”