Fire investigator takes the stand in Sockeye wildfire trial

The trial for the couple accused of starting the Sockeye wildfire continued Monday, with a state fire investigator laying out what he believes did — and did not — cause the devastating 2015 fire.

Nathan Rocheleau, deputy fire marshal with the state Department of Public Safety, told jurors about first making his way to the Ringler Circle property owned by Greg Imig. The state alleged in opening statements Thursday that the wildfire started on June 15, 2015, as a result of a neglected burn pile on Imig's Willow property.

Imig, 61, and his wife, Amy DeWitt, 43, are each charged with a dozen counts related to starting the blaze, including second-degree negligent burning, failure to obtain a burn permit, burning without clearing the area, allowing the wildfire to spread and leaving the fire unattended.

[Trial begins for couple accused of starting destructive Susitna Valley fire]

The fire burned over 7,000 acres and destroyed more than 100 structures, including 55 homes. It ultimately cost the state more than $8 million to fight.

Rocheleau's work with the Department of Public Safety is focused on investigating structure fires, and his testimony focused on ruling out possible causes of the fire. He said Monday that he was called in to assist the Division of Forestry because structures were involved in the fire.

He detailed what he saw when he first arrived at the property just hours after the fire began. There, he found debris on a gravel pad: a beer bottle filled with cigarette butts, a chain saw, several motor-home levelers, a trash bag and a Fred Meyer keychain card. He told jurors that it appeared that someone had left the scene "in a hurry."

"I just noted kind of all of these items just kind of left there and kind of thought to myself that it seemed to me that this motor home might be leaving the scene — departing the scene," he testified. "I didn't think it was normal for all that stuff to be left out in the open."

Rocheleau took to investigating the rest of the property for possible sources of ignition, including propane tanks attached to a destroyed travel trailer, a burned generator shack and extension cords running through the property.

He told jurors that black singe marks on the outside of the propane tanks suggested the fire had approached the tanks from the woods and that there was no indication they had malfunctioned. He also inspected the generator and extension cords and found no indication they had even been energized. One cord was found unplugged on a gravel pad, surrounded by other debris.

"It's my opinion that the fire did not originate in those locations," Rocheleau testified, "and therefore I called it a wildland fire at that point."

DeWitt's attorney Philip Shanahan attempted to cast doubt on Rocheleau's conclusion. Rocheleau, who has spent the last 11 years working as an investigator for the Department of Public Safety, admitted that he had only assisted on four wildfire investigations, including the Sockeye fire.

Shanahan noted that Rocheleau did not seize the extension cords or destroyed generator as evidence, despite the fact that he had not determined the cause of the fire when on scene in June 2015.

Rocheleau was the only witness to testify Monday. Judge David Zwink postponed the trial until Wednesday after the defense team requested a pause, citing a "private matter outside the courtroom."

Shanahan declined to elaborate on those matters when contacted outside the courtroom Monday.