Bend man billed almost $69,000 by Oregon Dept. of Forestry for Bend’s 2021 Bull Springs Fire, but has yet to pay

(Update: adding video, comment from Oregon Department of Forestry)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon Department of Forestry has billed property owner James Verheyden almost $69,000 for the costs of fighting the March 2021 Bull Springs Fire that burned 211 acres northwest of Bend, near Tumalo.

According to ODF post-fire reports, the fire was caused by the rekindling of previous burn piles on Verheyden's property and a failure to follow burn permit instructions.

An initial, small ODF fine for not following burn permit instructions was paid, but the bill for firefighting costs has not been paid to date, amid a pending civil lawsuit filed by neighbors against Verheyden and his companies.

Burned and charred trees are left as remnants of the Bull Springs Fire that took down three structures.

Three years ago NewsChannel 21 spoke with homeowner Cindy Desota after the Bull Springs forced her to evacuate.

“I saw how close it came to the house," Desota said at the time. "I mean, the fire line was probably 100 yards from our house, and that was just really close and went right up to the horses' fence line, too."

Resident and property owner James Verheyden was ordered to pay the cost of putting out the fire, but 14 months later hasn't paid.

Tim Holschbach, protection division deputy chief of policy with ODF, said, "It's the personnel on scene, the equipment that they use, if they have any supplies that they need it for the incident, and then any contractual resources we had to bring in. So we break, we itemized that out into a list, and that's what is submitted with the demand letter to the responsible party."

Verheyden was  billed in May 2023 almost $69,000 for the cost of fighting the Bull Springs Fire.

Personnel costs, equipment costs, meals, and lodging added up to over $37,000. The heftiest bill was over $31,000 for a Hotshot crew.

"The certified costs for the first year. They have 90 days after that first demand is submitted. and then if they do not pay within that timeframe, it's also accrues 10% interest annually," Holschbach said.

The Department of Forestry wouldn't talk directly about Verheyden's case, but did explain there are about 1,000 fires a year in Oregon  -- 70% are caused by humans.

"Generally, an interview with them in a lot of our investigations are fairly straightforward," said Holschbach. "So what we look for in investigation is just that general costs. usually we get that from statements, but there's evidence that we'll find at the scene."

Debris burning is the number one reason for human-caused fires.

In the case of Verhayden, and the Bull Springs Fire, an ODF post-fire report said the fire was caused by the rekindling of a previous burn and that he failed to follow burn permit instructions.

"Was the person willful, malicious or negligent in its cause or its spread or its failure to control?" said Holschbach. "And that largely goes into what the next steps are."

The ODF says most human-caused blazes are accidental, and people are issued a $115 citation.

Generally with human-caused fires, it's a behavior that we're that we're looking at, and fire prevention is trying to adjust human behavior," Holschbach said.

Verheyden has been granted an extension because he's involved in a lawsuit filed by neighbors who had property damaged in the fire. They're suing him and his companies for more than $2 million. NewsChannel 21 reached out to Verheyden and neighbors for a comment, but did not hear back.

According to court records, a trial is planned for December.

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