Oregon officials: Men who started 2015 wildfire will be billed $37 million

Officials in Oregon estimate it cost about $37 million to fight the Stouts Creek Fire last summer, and the two men they say started it have to pay up.

The fire, which broke out on July 30 and burned for more than a month, scorched over 26,000 acres. It took investigators several months to determine that the fire was started by 70-year-old Dominic Decarlo of Days Creek, Oregon, and 64-year-old Cloyd Deardorff of Yuma, Arizona, when they used their lawnmowers. The fire started in the afternoon, and at the time, mowing the lawn was forbidden between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Because Oregon holds individuals responsible for the costs of fire suppression, the men will receive an itemized invoice showing the cost of everything from helicopters to bulldozers to food for firefighters. Both men have already been fined for unlawful use of fire and Deardorff was cited for unlawful entry into a restricted forestland area, with Decarlo paying $110 and Deardorff $440. Bills can be challenged, and when they are this high, they're usually sent to an insurance company or lawyer, and a settlement is negotiated or a lawsuit is filed. "We're trying to make people aware that they have some responsibility... so people know there are consequences when you start [a wildfire]," Jeff Bonebrake, fire investigation and cost recovery coordinator for the Oregon Department of Forestry, told The Oregonian. "If we can prevent one, that saves everyone a lot of grief."

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