Alaska charter company pays $900k after guide caused wildfire by not properly extinguishing campfire

An Alaska fishing guide company has paid $900,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. government alleging one of its guides started a wildfire in 2019, the U.S. attorney’s office for Alaska said in a statement Wednesday.

Court documents said the Groves Salmon Charters’ guide, Joshua McDonald, started a campfire July 8, 2019, at a campground around Mile 16 of the Klutina River near Copper Center, located about 160 miles (258 kilometers) northeast of Anchorage, to keep fisherman warm. Later that day, a large forest fire along the Klutina River was reported near that area.

The government alleges McDonald started the fire despite knowing there was a high fire danger at the time. Investigators determined the fire started when he failed to properly extinguish the camp fire, according to the statement.