The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office said Thursday it has opened an investigation into the fire.

CANTERBURY, N.H. — For almost three decades, 81-year-old David Lidstone has lived in the woods of New Hampshire along the Merrimack River in a small cabin adorned with solar panels. He has grown his own food, cut his own firewood, and tended to his pets and chickens.

But his off-the-grid existence has been challenged in court by a property owner who says he’s been squatting for all those years. And to make Lidstone’s matters worse, his cabin was burned to the ground Wednesday afternoon in a blaze that is being investigated by local authorities. The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office said Thursday it has opened an investigation into the fire.

READ MORE