Lost hiker must pay nearly $300K for setting signal fires

just say no to paywall articles. The article does remind me of what happened to Ken Knight (got lost on AT, started fire to get found).

https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/news/a-hiker-started-a-wildfire-trying-to-signal-for-help-now-he-owes-the-government-300000

Makes a $300 satellite emergency messenger seem like a real bargain.

Obviously he could have been better prepared, and he made a lot of mistakes, but I wonder if the judge overstated things by saying the hiker was “was reckless and negligent in his preparation for a hike of this magnitude from the outset.” He had a gallon of water, food, phone (with mapping app), battery back-up for phone, stove, sleeping bag, etc. And this was for an intended 17 mile day-hike on moderate terrain. In general, that doesn’t sound crazy to me.

He made big mistakes. He wasn’t prepared for the heat, he was on the wrong trail and lost, and he didn’t download the map to his phone. I guess it’s subjective, but I see a lot of newbies making mistakes, and I remember making some myself. In fact, I got off-trail last summer and had to bushwhack quite a ways. He believed that his situation was life-threatening, and he may have been correct. On the other hand, the way he lit the fires was reckless, but most likely he was in bad shape at that point and not able to make good decisions.

Personally, I think it was a good idea to hold him responsible, but the magnitude of the punishment/fine seems excessive. Maybe the judge is trying to send a public message by getting a lot of publicity.

Deserts are different. One gallon isn’t nearly enough for a long day. People who live there know it.

Starting a forest fire during a fire ban is pretty extreme. I think he got off easy.

Agreed that a satellite messenger is worth it. Don’t even need a service subscription if you only use it for emergencies.

In the smart phone era: “My phone is my communications, emergency beacon, map, compass and flashlight.”

All eggs in one basket.

Was it was also his entertainment?  If he’d used up his phone battery by playing tunes audible to others, he should have gotten the chair.

Hyperbole aside, I agree with Dan that he wasn’t unprepared, just under-prepared.  A gallon of water seems like a lot to a newbie starting out in the morning.  Was he negligent?  Yes.  Grossly negligent?  I’d say no, not in his preparation. The gross negligence happened when he did clear around his signal fire and walked away from it.

Like others, I’ve got mixed feelings on this.

Sentences are there not just to serve justice to the perpetrator, but as a deterrent to others. If this sentence, and attention brought to it, sends a message to be better prepared before a desert hike, great.

But what if it makes a lost, perhaps underprepared hiker, who finds him or herself in a potentially life-or-death situation too cautious about setting a signal fire, and this reluctance results in a lost life?