Teen Who Started Eagle Creek Fire Ordered to Pay $36 Million!

[ctf]

I was all for stringing the kid out to dry last year and I'm all for it now. 15 years old or not, actions have consequences. If he was too stupid to understand the risks of his actions, that is his problem, not ours. Garnish his wages for all eternity for all I care, or even his parent's wages (he is a minor, after all). From my perspective, I demanded a lot from myself when I was his age, so I don't buy the the argument that he's "just a kid." I certainly knew what the dangers of fire were!

His actions have far reaching consequences: the cost of fighting the fire, public and private property damage, any short and long-term health impacts from the smoke, potential impacts to tourism and the economy, and impacts to local quality of life (how many people would go hiking in that area during the spring and summer?). Sucks to be him and his family, but I can't bring myself to care.

 

[Greshamreloadr]

I'm a bit torn over the outcome of this. While I think it is absolutely imperative that the young man be held accountable for the devastating damage and putting his fellow man in danger, $36 million seems a little unrealistic to ask for.

Meanwhile, you have murderers and rapists getting 5 years in prison and then their debts are repaid.

Well I think the judge wanted the people of the gorge to get some closer on this issue. We all know he will never be able to pay this back but it does send a clear message to all the parents that don't watch their brats. The law will come down on you and it has teeth. Just think of the amount of money they have had to shell out so far for a lawyer and the court procedures. Also he will have to pay something back so all is not lost and this will be one of those story's parents can tell kids about the one that played with matches and fireworks.

 

[tac]

Really guys, he was 15 when he did it. Stupid? Yes? Terrible consequences? Yes. But $36 MILLION to pay back? You guys really think his life should be ruined until the day he dies over this?

Yup.

tac

 

[tac]

No, not really. There are hundreds of forest fires every year. Nature repairs itself rather quickly.

Look at Mt. St. Helens. Blew 38 years ago. And it's been green and flourishing with plants and wildlife for years.

Mt St Helens was a natural disaster. This little POS deliberately tossed a lit firework into a tinder-dry forest, laughing with his buddies while he did it. He should be put to planting trees for the rest of his life, making what was otherwise worthless into something good. I just bet his parents are sooooo pleased with him.

tac

 

[Captain O]

Mt St Helens was a natural disaster. This little POS deliberately tossed a lit firework into a tinder-dry forest, laughing with his buddies while he did it. He should be put to planting trees for the rest of his life, making what was otherwise worthless into something good. I just bet his parents are sooooo pleased with him.

tac

He should be either planting trees for the rest of his life or be "roasting over an open fire". Either way works for me. I'll repeat myself at the risk of sounding monotonous.

No pity.

 

[Kruel J]

Yeah, I'll bet neither of you did ANYTHING dumb when you were 15.

 

[Captain O]

Yeah, I'll bet neither of you did ANYTHING dumb when you were 15.

That's a "red herring" and you know it. The issue is what happened to thousands of people, millions of dollars as well as the environmental impact.

Sorry, no sale.

 

[Greshamreloadr]

I agree. We all did stupid stuff when we were 15 and older or younger. Starting fires and making light of the situation was not one of them. According to the article I read he was told about it from several people on the trail and his group laughed then tried to run off with the parents. The state police pulled them over as they were leaving the scene.

 

[Greshamreloadr]

I agree. We all did stupid stuff when we were 15 and older or younger. Starting fires and making light of the situation was not one of them. According to the article I read he was told about it from several people on the trail and his group laughed then tried to run off with the parents. The state police pulled them over as they were leaving the scene.

So I agree with the others that he should pay and have to plant trees for a long time. The area will be affected by mudslides for years to come before plant life makes the area stable again.

 

[Kruel J]

Oh believe me I'm not saying no punishment. But $36 MILLION is stupid.

 

[Captain O]

Oh believe me I'm not saying no punishment. But $36 MILLION is stupid.

I agree. This is pointless. He should be fined $5,000,000 and plant trees for the next 40 years. He needs to be an indentured servant to the US Forest Service for the next 4 decades.

 

[Retired Guy]

Oh believe me I'm not saying no punishment. But $36 MILLION is stupid.

I doubt he will pay a single cent. I worked in Juvenile Corrections for a while and I often saw severe punishments doled out but then mitigated out to nothing. (family appealed and it got tossed) Or it all was sealed and went away when the juvie hit 21.

I do think a month in detention would have been good for his soul. I also hope his parents are footing his legal bills. If the parents were wealthy, the County billed them for the expense of detaining their offspring at "the roach motel". When he turns 18 and says, "Dad, can I have a car?" I sure hope the answer is, "No, we have to pay your attorney fees." Do I want to see him and his family crippled financially for the rest of their life? No. But a few years will be a good teaching point.

As others have pointed out, we have all done stupid things when we were young but not to this magnitude.

 

[41mag]

I'll bet neither of you did ANYTHING dumb when you were 15.

nothing so catastrophically stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopid like this

 

[Kruel J]

nothing so catastrophically stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooopid like this

I came close, but I agree. I once blew my eyebrows and some hair off playing around with gasoline.

 

[bimmerstuff]

He will be able to set up $5 payments a month for his whole life.

The down side is this will ruin his credit forever and hurt his career chances, buying a house etc.

He will never have the chance for a higher level of living then the bottom.


Idk if this is reasonable or not.

On one hand I did stupid stuff as a kid, a lot of the time I got lucky.

On the other hand he obviously needs to pay some kind of retribution. Personally I think 36 million hours of community service would be more productive and actually help the community more then this insane number he will never pay.

I'm not so sure that 40 hours a week for 18,000 years is workable either!

 

[Captain O]

I want to see his life tattered as an example to all the other little jackwagons that think nothing of jerking the world around. These ill-bred monsters believe they can get by with playing the cloyingly sweet part of an innocent lad whose mouth would have trouble melting butter.

Let his butthole hurt for his mistake.

 

[41mag]

. I once blew my eyebrows and some hair off playing around with gasoline.

are you actually making the claim 'being lucky' is more advantage than 'being stupid'?

 

[Kruel J]

are you actually making the claim 'being lucky' is more advantage than 'being stupid'?

I wasn't making any claim.

 

[tac]

When I was fifteen it was 1961 and I was working my butt off at public school in London where I had serious life-changing exams ahead of me. I had just begun boarding so that I wouldn't miss out on the Saturday tutor sessions in my eight chosen subjects, four of which were modern languages. You can bet your life I wasn't cruising around the landscape with my pals, loaded with fireworks of any kind, looking for a forest to burn down, precious historic buildings to destroy, and peoples lives to put at risk, maybe even to kill. He just didn't give the square root of a rat's ar$e about his actions, and laughed as he tossed a lit incendiary device into a national heritage forest location of world-wide fame and reputation.

For a fun.

This kid is seriously crazy, to say the least, and may well be connected in spirit to the bozos who shot up the uniquely original Cape Meare's lighthouse a few years back. I'm a contributor to the rebuild fund, BTW, like thousands of other people like me who just don't get the amount of fun these sickos derive from their unbelievably insane actions. The Cape Meares lighthouse lenses were/are unique - they were the very FIRST Fresnel lenses made in Paris, shipped around Cape Horn before the Panama Canal was built, and worth many millions until a couple of jerks with rifles shot the cr*p out of them for a laugh. To make new ones will require many millions of dollars, and years.

Am I ranting? You bet I'm ranting. I've done NOTHING in entire my life as stupid and uncaring as either of these things, and you can take that to the bank.

tac

 

[Mister Bisley]

in a month this is yesterdays news and nobody will remember.

Maybe not...

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/st...-columbia-gorge-firefighters-scene/652307002/