31 Jul 2012 11:53

Barbecuing in a forest cost Buryatia resident 3.5 mln rubles

TOMSK. July 31 (Interfax) - A district court in Buryatia has obliged a 21-year-old local resident to compensate for the damage caused by a forest fire that broke out through his fault, the republic prosecutor's office said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In late March, when the risks of wildfires were high already, Nikolai Taishikhin made a campfire to cook food and he left the place leaving the campfire improperly put out," the statement says.

"The fire spread onto the grass and reached further, destroying trees and shrubs. The damage done was estimated at 3.481 million rubles," it said.

The court found the man guilty and sentenced him to 12 months of correctional labor and a fine worth the damage done.