WENATCHEE, Wash. - [size=-1] The U.S. Forest Service said it plans to bill a teenager about $10 million to pay the costs of fighting a 16,000-acre wildfire. [/size]
[size=-1]Ryan Unger, 18, was cited last month for operating an off-road vehicle without a spark arrester, which officials believe started the August blaze in central Washington. Besides burning thousands of acres, the fire destroyed one home. [/size]
[size=-1] The Forest Service is required by law to try to recover costs of fighting forest fires. The state Department of Natural Resources has paid about one-third of the total $14.9 million it took to extinguish the blaze. [/size]
[size=-1]"It's not something we take pleasure in," said Maureen Hanson, administrative officer for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests. "We understand a lot of these people don't go out to start a fire." [/size]
[size=-1] Unger's father said the family would not comment when reached by phone Monday.
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[size=-1]Ryan Unger, 18, was cited last month for operating an off-road vehicle without a spark arrester, which officials believe started the August blaze in central Washington. Besides burning thousands of acres, the fire destroyed one home. [/size]
[size=-1] The Forest Service is required by law to try to recover costs of fighting forest fires. The state Department of Natural Resources has paid about one-third of the total $14.9 million it took to extinguish the blaze. [/size]
[size=-1]"It's not something we take pleasure in," said Maureen Hanson, administrative officer for the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests. "We understand a lot of these people don't go out to start a fire." [/size]
[size=-1] Unger's father said the family would not comment when reached by phone Monday.
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[size=-1]Full Story
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