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Baclava

(12,047 posts)
Tue May 22, 2018, 01:09 PM May 2018

Judge: Teen must repay $37M for starting Oregon wildfire

Source: AP

HOOD RIVER, Ore. (AP) — A teenager who started a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon has been ordered to pay restitution for at least the next decade, though it’s unlikely the boy will ever cover his nearly $37 million bill.

The Oregonian reports that Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson issued the opinion on Monday, awarding the restitution totaling $36,618,330.24 to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes. Victims include the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Transportation.

The 15-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, earlier this year acknowledged wrongdoing and said he threw two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2 when flames spread quickly. The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction.

The judge’s order notes that the boy can set up a payment plan, though payments can be halted after 10 years as long as he complies, completes probation and doesn’t commit other crimes.

Read more: https://apnews.com/9b5aa5961a264c72926a8843dd40be21



Now that's an incentive to get a job, I don't do math, but I bet he doesn't get much pay while being grounded for a decade.

Wonder how he got caught
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Baclava

(12,047 posts)
5. Wow- what a story - she did a great job in reporting them
Tue May 22, 2018, 01:39 PM
May 2018

'Do you realize you just started a forest fire?' and the kid said, 'Well, what are we supposed to do about it now?"

"I really felt like it's not just that one boy that lobbed it. He had a friend that filmed it. There was a whole group of kids who found it funny to do this. The girl's expression as she drove by. None of them seemed at all to understand what they were doing. I don't know what they were feeling but I got a glimpse of at least one young woman or girl who looked like she was just hanging out like it was just any other day."

Dave Starsky

(5,914 posts)
16. I have no tears for this little piece of shit.
Tue May 22, 2018, 07:15 PM
May 2018

He obviously knew exactly what he was doing and didn't give a fuck. I hope the social media hits he got from this stunt were worth ruining the rest of his life.

maxsolomon

(32,992 posts)
6. He got busted when he when he got back to the trailhead.
Tue May 22, 2018, 01:42 PM
May 2018

He'll never be able to pay this back. Even if he somehow makes 37 million dollars, he destroyed priceless cultural assets.

 

luc mont

(70 posts)
8. I Guess He Forgot He Wasn't Rich
Tue May 22, 2018, 02:08 PM
May 2018

Had he been, he would've gotten 30 days community service as a wine taster.

mackdaddy

(1,520 posts)
12. All this kids fault. No fault of the massive drought due to climate change.
Tue May 22, 2018, 03:35 PM
May 2018

The fact that what is normally a temperate rain forest was in a massive drought that a single spark could cause 37 million in damages, not a factor.

Climate change is just a hoax anyhow, or so I am told.

hunter

(38,264 posts)
13. 37 million is pocket change to the fossil fuel companies.
Tue May 22, 2018, 04:13 PM
May 2018

The idiot kid and his friends didn't do this alone.

The fires from here on out are only going to get worse.

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