Teen Owes $10 Million For Starting Fire

[jeffrey]

From The Strait Times

The US Forest Service said it plans to bill a teenager about US$10 million to pay the costs of fighting a 6,400ha wildfire.

Mr Ryan Unger, 18, was cited last month for operating an off-road vehicle without a spark arrester, which officials believe started the August blaze in central Washington. Besides burning thousands of hectares, the fire destroyed one home.

The Forest Service is required by law to try to recover costs of fighting forest fires. The state Department of Natural Resources has paid about one-third of the total US$14.9 million it took to extinguish the blaze... Entire Story Here