US judge orders teenager to pay $36m in damages for causing forest fire

The fire destroyed several homes and raged for around three months in the US state of Oregon

A US judge has ordered a teenage boy responsible for a causing a forest fire that raged for months in the US state of Oregon to pay over $36 million in damages.

The decision came after the boy admitted that he started a fire in the Eagle Creek forest.

Judge John Olson, of Hood River County, ruled that the teenager must further write an apology to the 152 hikers trapped on trails during the forest fire.

The fire destroyed several homes and that burned for around three months in the Columbia River Gorge.



The amount seemed ‘absurd’ and ‘absolutely silly’ to the lawyer representing the teenager.

The 15-year-old boy admitted to throwing a firework into tinder-dry Eagle Creek Canyon-80 km from Portland. The incident occurred on 2 September 2017.

The fire blazed over 48,000 acres and cost fire crews $18m to get it under control.

The teenager pleaded guilty to the charges against him, which included eight counts of reckless burning of public and private property, two counts of depositing burning materials on forest land, and criminal mischief and reckless endangerment of others.

The court ruled that the boy must pay $36,618,330 to Eagle Creek victims including the US Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission, and individual homeowners and citizens.

The court ordered him to perform 1,920 hours of community service for US Forest Services and has placed him under probation for five years.



The court recognised that the teenager will not be able to pay the total amount.

Judge Olson cited ‘safety valves’ in state law that may allow juvenile offenders, like the accidental arson, to discontinue payments after 10 years if they complete probation and do not commit any other crimes.

The boy's lawyer, Jack Morris deemed the penalty excess and asked the presiding judge to fine a ‘reasonable and rational’ amount, according to the Oregonian.

Judge Olson argued that the amount "is clearly proportionate to the offence because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth".

He also directed the juvenile probation officers to help the boy create a payment schedule. He instructed juvenile probation officers to set up a payment schedule with the boy.

In November, his mother reported to the Oregonian that the fire was ‘a trauma’ for her son.

The boy asked for the court's forgiveness during his plea hearing, claiming: "I know I will have to live with his bad decision for the rest of my life, but I have learned from this experience and will work hard to help rebuild the community in any way that I can.

"I now realise how important it is to think before acting because my actions can have serious consequences."

This article originally appeared in BBC News.