Owner of farm raided by Louisa deputies connected to 450-acre wildfire

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office said a man whose farm was raided by deputies in August for alleged animal abuse is also responsible for a fire that burned hundreds of acres in the county earlier this year.

Andrew Dennison, a neighbor of James League, told 8News that his animals are visibly malnourished and have escaped his property and wandered the area on several occasions.

“I mean, you could see rib cages,” Dennison said. “They just did not look like healthy animals.”

Louisa County Sheriff’s deputies had been called to League’s farm to respond to reports of mistreated animals several times before the raid, in which 45 injured and malnourished animals were seized. League had reportedly been given multiple chances by the county to improve the treatment of the animals, which are now under the care of state veterinarians.

“I hate to take someone’s animals from them, but if they’re not capable of taking care of animals then they shouldn’t have them,” Dennison said.

In the year he has lived in Louisa near League, Dennison said he has seen two wildfires in the area — one last September which spanned nine acres and nearly reached his house, and one in March which burned over 200 acres and caused over $1 million in damage. League has been connected to the second fire by the Louisa Sheriff’s Office.

“We knew they were burning because, I mean, you could see the white smoke coming off and I was like ‘Oh, they’re just backburning pile,'” Dennison said. “And then it just kept growing and growing.”

Dennison is a firefighter and said he knows the fire was accidental but could have been prevented.

“Either they shouldn’t have been burning or they were not fully extinguishing their burn piles,” he said.

Dennison remembers the day that the March fire started was a “Red Flag Day,” which is an advisory issued by the National Weather Service when conditions outside can increase the chance of a wildfire. Dennison remembers that day being windy and hot — a recipe for disaster.

‘It was more of like a feeling of helplessness,” he said.

Dennison said he doesn’t want to worry about the possibility of another wildfire and wants League to take care of his animals or have them taken away for good.

League has been charged with leaving a fire unattended and careless damage to property by fire in connection to the March wildfire and charges are pending for the alleged animal abuse.

This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.

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