James Francis Armstrong handed six-month suspended sentence for national park blaze

The man who started a bushfire which tore through a Northern Territory national park for 11 days has learnt his fate in court.

James Francis Armstrong was found to have deliberately lit a devastating bushfire at Djukbinj National Park. Picture: Supplied

A man who deliberately lit a fire that burned for 11 days at Djukbinj National Park has avoided jail and was slapped with a six-month suspended sentence.

On Friday, the NT Supreme Court handed down the sentence to James Francis Armstrong, who plead guilty last year to starting a bushfire that razed 166 sq/km of forest in August 2022.

Justice John Burns found the blaze was deliberately sparked during a total fire ban by Mr Armstrong and his accomplice Thomas Nicholas Harvey Sticpewich.

Sticpewich was sentenced earlier this year after pleading guilty to the same offence.

Earlier this month, Armstrong was also convicted and fined in the Darwin Local Court after pleading guilty to a related firearms charge, losing his licence.

The park is a protected area popular with four-wheel drivers, and is a major breeding site for magpie geese, herons and egrets.

More than 100 fires are deliberately lit across the Top End each year, according to Bushfires NT executive director Collene Bremner.

About 2300 hectares of pasture on a neighbouring pastoral station was also burned in the blaze.

Bushfires NT executive director Collene Bremner said the “the sentence should serve as a warning to others”.

“Illegal burning places a significant strain on landowners, staff and volunteers who give their time to reduce the threat of wildfires to the community and the environment,” Ms Bremner said.

“Every year there are more than 100 deliberately lit fires across the Top End and today’s outcome is a reminder to the broader community that everyone has an obligation to comply with NT’s fire laws and suspicious matters brought to our attention will be investigated.”

Ms Bremner also urged locals to report illegal fire to Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or Police on 131 444.