Off-grid man found living in remote forest for eight years surrounded by 1,000lbs of trash

A man who spent about eight years living off the grid in a remote Arizona forest has been sentenced after authorities discovered his makeshift campsite surrounded by roughly 1,000 pounds of trash and an active campfire despite strict fire restrictions.Mark Aaron Gatz, 65, pleaded guilty to violating federal fire restrictions and unlawfully residing in Tonto National Forest, according to federal court records first reported by The Guardian.Gatz was arrested on June 25 after a U.S.Forest Service officer found what court documents described as an illegal campsite with a “hot wood burning campfire” regardless of fire restrictions.During the encounter, Gatz told investigators he had been living in the national forest for about eight years.A records check found he had previously received multiple citations and was the subject of six outstanding federal arrest warrants tied to earlier violations, including building fires during fire restrictions, constructing structures on National Forest land, maintaining unsanitary conditions and occupying the forest as a residence.Authorities said Gatz admitted he knew fire restrictions were in place but told investigators he “had to have fire to eat.”Court records show Forest Service officers had contacted him several times over the past year, issuing warnings and a violation notice over campfires during fire restrictions.During earlier visits this year, officers reported finding clothing, pans, tools and plastic cups strewn across the campsite, along with a four-foot-tall structure built from wooden panels.When officials returned in May, they estimated the site contained approximately 1,000 pounds of trash, including tires, plastic bags, trash bags, aluminum cans and other debris.

They also reported finding that a campfire had been left unattended while it was still hot.In a separate report from February, one officer wrote that “upon arrival at the camp, I was flabbergasted by the amount of debris in the area.”Investigato...