Homeless woman arrested for starting fire that spread over a quarter acre at Morningside Nature Center

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Laura Elizabeth Hughes, 54, was arrested last night and charged with reckless burning of conservation lands after building a fire that spread over a quarter acre at Morningside Nature Center.

At about 10:49 p.m. on February 1, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to Morningside Nature Center (3540 East University Avenue) and found an active brush fire that spanned about a quarter of an acre.

The officer made contact with Hughes, who reported the fire, at the Circle K at 4310 SE Hawthorne Road. When the officer asked her what had happened, she said, “I [messed] up”; she said she had been using an exhibit at the park as shelter to get out of the cold weather, and she started a fire inside the structure to warm herself. She said the structure caught fire, and she fled the area for safety. She said she went to a nearby fire station, but nobody answered when she knocked on the door, so she walked to the nearest open business, which was about two miles away, to flag down someone to call 911.

Post Miranda, Hughes reportedly told the same story.

The officer noted that although Hughes “burned lands that did not belong to her, she did seek help and was able to notify first responders before the fire continued to spread to nearby neighborhoods. Firefighters arrived on scene and extinguished the fire without incident.”

Hughes, whose address is listed as GRACE Marketplace, has been charged with reckless burning of conservation lands, a misdemeanor. She has two misdemeanor convictions (one violent), and Judge Meshon Rawls ordered her released on her own recognizance.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.