Camper arrested after 55,000-acre fire destroys part of park

A CAMPER was arrested for allegedly starting a 55,000-acre fire that has gobbled swaths of Sequoia National Park and threatened some of the most treasured trees in the American forest system.

The fire appears to have been set accidentally, authorities said.

Peri Van Brunt, 45, was arrested on Wednesday and held on felony charges of unlawfully starting a fire. She was to be arraigned yesterday in the US District Court in Fresno, said Jim Paxon, spokesman for a national team of elite firefighters called in to manage the blaze.