Bryan Teague Ordered to Pay $5,000 for Starting 5,220-acre Tonto Wildfire

A Peoria man who was convicted in September of starting a 5,220-acre wildfire with a propane tank has been ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. The U.S. Forest Service had recommended that Bryan Teague pay $487,000 to reimburse the costs of fighting the 2012 fire, making it appear as though...

By Ray Stern

December 23, 2013

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A Peoria man who was convicted in September of starting a 5,220-acre wildfire with a propane tank has been ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

The U.S. Forest Service had recommended that Bryan Teague pay $487,000 to reimburse the costs of fighting the 2012 fire, making it appear as though Teague is receiving leniency. U.S. District Judge Bridget Bade had already ordered Teague to spend a week in prison back in October.

During a two-year probation, Teague must take mental-health classes and refrain from using alcohol. A couple of weeks ago, Bade agreed to enforce an agreement for the $5,000 restitution amount between Teague and the Forest Service.

Teague started the blaze in the Tonto National Forest on August 8, 2012, by kicking a propane tank into a campfire. Nearby trees ignited after the propane tank exploded in a large fireball. Teague ran away and was caught hours later in the forest by law-enforcement rangers.

Firefighters required about three weeks to get the blaze under control.

Teague, who has several other convictions under his belt for his drunken antics, will pay the Tonto forest back with $250 monthly payments.

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.