(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to set fire to, or to cause to be set on fire, either accidentally or otherwise, directly or indirectly, in person or by agent, any woodlot, forest, or wild land, or property, material, or vegetation being or growing thereon, without permission of the owner, either by dropping lighted matches, tobacco, or other substances, or in any other manner whatsoever; or to start fires anywhere and permit them to spread to woodlots, forest, or wild land, thereby causing damage to or destruction of such property, as aforesaid.

It shall be unlawful to use fire for the purpose of smoking out birds, bees, animals, or any other creature, from hollow trees, logs, or subterranean holes or caverns, when by so doing the fire may or does spread to adjoining or neighboring woodlots, forest, or wild lands.

Any person violating any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined for each offense not exceeding five hundred dollars, or undergo imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

(b) If any person shall maliciously set fire to, or cause to be set on fire, directly or indirectly, in person or by agent any woodlot, forest, or wild land, or property, material, or vegetation, being or growing thereon, such person shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, and be imprisoned in a penitentiary for a period not exceeding ten years.

(c) This section shall not apply to the setting of a back fire, in good faith, to extinguish a fire then burning.

(d) The term “person,” as used in paragraph (a) of this section, shall include individuals, associations, partnerships, limited partnerships, joint-stock companies, or corporations, and their officers, agents, or employés.

(e) The terms “woodlot,” “forest,” or “wild land,” in this section, are intended to include woods, farmers' woodlots, marshes, brush barrens, brush lands, and wild, unseated, uncultivated land.

(f) The term “set” shall cover all manner of ways in which woodlot, forest, or wild land fires may be started, either by direct act, or by an appliance, or by indirection.