April 3 RV fire in Pine Lake was admittedly intentional

A fire destroyed that destroyed a recreational vehicle (RV) in the town of Pine Lake on County Highway C the night of April 3 is being investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The dispatch center for the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting the fire on property owned by Frank Dalka IV just before 8 p.m.

Pine Lake firefighters and firefighters from the town of Pelican responded. 

Chris Bartelt with the DNR’s Woodruff office said Monday the matter “is in the hands of our waste management program staff,” and indicated any consequence or penalty would be determined there.

“When we submit it, it goes to a group of them and based on caseload and availability, one of their folks picks it up,” he said. “We’re still working through it.”

According to Capt. Tyler Young with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, the RV was “pretty much just a shell” as the engine and other parts of value had been removed  and was, for the most part, “bare bones.”

According to the incident report from the sheriff’s office, Tyler Tucker, 23, Rhinelander, admitted to having set the vehicle on fire “to get rid of it.”

“He salvaged as much as he could out of it,” Young said. “He said he was going to burn it and then bury it because nobody was going to take it.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at bjopek@lakelandtimes.com.