Brady Smith/USDA Forest Service, Coconino National Forest via Wikimedia Commons
A hiker who got lost without supplies in a forest in Arizona and started fires to signal for help has been ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution. Philip Powers, 37, told officials he thought he was “done” on his disastrous trek through the Prescott and Coconino national forests after he lost his way in May 2018. After losing track of his planned 18-mile route, Powers ran out of food and his phone died, and he even resorted to drinking his own urine to preserve his limited water ration. After setting three fires to call for aid, he was quickly rescued by the U.S. Forest Service—but one of the blazes grew into a wildfire which eventually engulfed 230 acres, according to an affidavit, which the Forest Service spent over a week and $500,000 fighting. Last week, a judge ordered Philips to pay almost $300,000 in monthly installments of $200 as restitution, meaning his life-saving fires could take 122 years to pay back.
