Hiker owes $300,000 for Arizona wildfire he started

There’s yet another dumb hiker in the news for starting a wildfire to signal rescuers after he got lost. Philip Powers, a resident of Tempe, Arizona, argued in court that the fire he set in 2018 was necessary to save his life. But a federal court found that he was so unprepared that he created his own emergency.

Backpacker Magazine reported that the 37-year-old hiker in the rugged Sycamore Canyon Wilderness northwest of Sedona, in late May 2018, had barely slept and had muscle cramps in his legs. He’d also found a rattlesnake in the sheepherder shack where he’d overnighted. It was 14 miles back to his car, he was out of food and water, and he had no cell signal. Powers later told a USFS law enforcement officer that he feared he was “done.”

2018 Sycamore Fire in Arizona, looking north. USFS photo.
2018 Sycamore Fire in Arizona, looking north. USFS photo.

He’d tried the night before to start a signal fire, but it quickly burned out. He tried again, piling dry foliage around the base of a snag and firing it up with his Bic lighter. He hoped that the dead tree would go up in flames, and someone would see it and come to his rescue. But the fire got away, tripled in size in one day, and quickly grew to 230 acres; the Sycamore Fire took over a week to contain. A federal district court recently convicted him for his actions in 2018, and Powers now owes the feds almost $300,000 in restitution — and a year of probation.

Fronteras Desk reported that Judge Camille Bibles didn’t buy the hiker’s excuses. “Had Powers engaged in adequate preparation in planning and carried adequate water, food and gear, he would not have found himself in his circumstances,” she wrote. “Thus, the court finds that Powers’ necessity defense fails, as he created the conditions necessitating the commission of the fires, and his subsequent rescue.”

Powers faced 3½ years in prison for the seven misdemeanors he was charged with. Judge Bibles sentenced him to seven concurrent one-year probation periods instead. He also owes the Forest Service more than $293,000 in restitution, which he will make in $200 monthly payments.

In addition, the judge ordered Powers to complete a hiking safety course.

According to 12News in Arizona, he’s already filed an appeal of his conviction.

9 thoughts on “Hiker owes $300,000 for Arizona wildfire he started”

  1. Thanks for the article/appreciated! I wish there was more standard/expected info/detail here, including: Power’s age, *net worth, (any) arrest (et al) history; I’d want to consider what he’s contributed toward the good of the world, prior to his stupid actions. I wondered if all of this this was considered by the judge. * How did the judge choose such a paltry monthly amount? There’s just not enough insight in the basic info that news sources gathered.

    As a firefighter I’ve always firmly believed in billing ‘offenders/victims’ who need rescue, start fires, etc. It would be a very good “tool” to give people second thoughts, especially when considering their trek.

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    1. Greg, read that Backpacker story; it’s got LOTS more detail. And he’s already filed an appeal, by the way.

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      1. Thanks, Kelly. The article wouldn’t load earlier, so I assumed it was paywalled. Even though there’s more detail by ‘Backpacker’ it only answered about his age, but his actions do confirm he was a careless idiot. I’d searched news reports also, but found no answers.

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  2. This needs to occur every time!!!! It’s 2023 plenty of devices out there for a hiker or hunter to carry in the woods to send a location for help. If you can afford a car to get you to the trail head and the gear to hike you can afford a beacon. We need to start holding people accountable in life again.

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  3. This kind of thing needs to happen more often, and the consequences made public. Far too many fires are started by human carelessnes.

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    1. It did.
      May 2018 in a rugged roadless wilderness area in Arizona.
      Ever been there?
      https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=74369
      https://bit.ly/3IQV5hI

      It’s amazing that they kept the cost under $300,000
      From the AZ Daily Sun:
      According to Prescott National Forest officials, the human-caused fire is about 25 percent contained. Firefighters believe the fire started on the west side of the canyon, about 14 miles northwest of Sedona. It is burning in rugged terrain of piñon-juniper and grass. No structures are threatened by the fire. Firefighters are working on building a line around the perimeter of the fire.

      Firefighting resources include five helicopters, one air attack plane, three Type 1 hotshot crews, one fuels crew, and one engine. A total of 100 personnel are on scene fighting the fire.

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  4. It’s gratifying to see a Judge who recognizes the seriousness of this hiker’s gross negligence.
    As a former Forest Supervisor, I have always felt any and all rescue costs should be borne by the person or persons being rescued, and most certainly any helicopter costs.

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