WOW I bet this kid wont smoke and wont fall asleep around the campfire anymore. MSNBC is reporting that a 26 year old hunter who set fire too the Mendocino Forest last fall must now pay $18,200,000.00 in fines and restitution for a fire he initially set to stay warm with while lost. He fell asleep and somehow the fire started and by the time it was over the fire had burned ALOT of country and costs so far have been totaled to exceed $32,000,000.00 in firefighting and re-generation efforts.

I can see both sides, he was lost and cold. BUT you must be responsible with fire at ALL times. The story also mentioned smoking and I have NO patience with smokers who set accidental fires as a result of their nasty habit.

I wonder if they will accept plastic or check?
RA

They'll be lucky to collect 10% of that fine. I wish they'd given him many years of community service working on fire crews - with no pay.

Even though the person did set the fire, and cause that much damage, $18 million is rediculous. He will never be able to pay that, unless he somehow wins the lottery!! For all of the people who's houses burned, they should have had homeowners insurance, so the fine won't pay for any of that. The trees didn't cost anything, they were there long before we showed up. What they are fining him for, then, is the cost of the labor, and materials to put the fire out, and the reclamation of the burned area, which the government has set aside already. So basically the guy is screwed for life, because of an accident. He will never be able to pay off that fine, but will be spending all of his life attempting to anyway. He will never be able to live a decent life because of an accident. I can understand that people are mad, but what can you do. I say they put him in prison for a few years, and make him work on the prison fire crews, there he would have a better chance at actually surviving.

maybe bill gates will give him a loan

This is when I would take a "vacation" to mexico and get lost all over again. I am all about paying the debts I owe...but that's riduculous

That's a steep fine but an effective deterant. Smokey said it best, "Only you can prevent forrest fires."

Had it been some extreme a**hole in lieu of a hunter that somehow was involved they would have been more lenient. Since it was a hunter well some of us know the story

Its amazing hes still alive. Considering it burned that much damage by the time he woke up.

Ive never been lost but when I start a fire I always remove everything around it within atleast 2-4ft.

oldelk hunter hit the nail on the head. They more than likely have been waiting for the "right" person to come along to make an example of. If it had been some tree huging, flower power, ELF member, or PETA member who acciedtally did it they wouldn't have had the spine to go after someone like that, but a hunter....typical california.