(CNN) A California man was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for illegally starting a fire that burned nearly 10,000 square feet of historic trees and other vegetation in the Joshua Tree National Park. George William Graham, 26, also was ordered to pay $21,019 in restitution to the National Park Service, according to a news release from the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Graham pleaded guilty in June to a felony charge of unlawfully setting a fire. Graham, who is from Twentynine Palms, California, admitted in the plea agreement that he started the March 26 fire by igniting a palm frond with a handheld lighter. National Park Service law enforcement rangers arrested Graham at the scene after he was observed watching the fire, the news release said.

Source: CNN September 11, 2018 07:30 UTC