In May 2023 a Bend-area property owner received a bill for $68,907 from the Oregon Department of Forestry for fighting a wildfire that began on his property west of the city. Fourteen months later, that bill remains unpaid.

Negotiations between the forestry department and property owner James Verheyden are unresolved, according to Jessica Neujahr, a public affairs officer for the department.

“We are still working with the identified responsible party in settling the case, so at this time there has been no payment received,” said Neujahr.

Levi Hopkins, Oregon Department of Forestry’s Wildfire Prevention & Policy Manager, said the time it takes the agency to recover suppression costs from a responsible party varies for each case.

“This typically depends on how long the investigation takes to complete, if there are other parties involved with the cost recovery, or if there are other litigations taking place,” said Hopkins. “Regardless, interest accrues from the time the demand letter is sent to the responsible party and ODF intends to recover all costs that are owed.”

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Strong winds spread flames

The 211-acre Bull Springs Fire on March 28, 2021, began on property owned by Verheyden, an orthopedic surgeon in Bend. Strong winds with gusts over 40 mph caused the flames to spread rapidly. They quickly jumped across property lines, burning structures and torching the landscape on neighboring properties.

Verheyden owns around 752 acres of land on Verheyden Ranch Road and Bull Springs Road west of Bend. The 2021 fire was caused by the rekindling of a burn pile from a previous burn, and Verheyden failed to follow burn permit instructions, a Department of Forestry post-fire report said.

In a witness statement obtained by The Bulletin, Verheyden provided a detailed account of the fire and his attempts to suppress the flames using heavy equipment just hours after he and his family arrived back in Bend from a trip to Hawaii.

In the harrowing account, he described digging hand lines in the forest to stop the advancing flames, but the winds were relentless.

“The wall of flame was about 20-30 feet away,” Verheyden wrote. “And the heat and smoke were intense with the gusting winds.”

Act of God

Verheyden offered his version of the fire’s sudden re-eruption, which occurred three weeks after crews burned the piles on his land. He stated an “Act of God” — an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.1, 1.5 kilometers deep — had occurred below the Verheyden property five days before the wildfire, suggesting that the earthquake may have jostled his burn piles enough to restart the fire.

“This earthquake did not help, as the whole (burn) pile would have shook, stirring and shaking any warm embers deep in the pile, and possibly reigniting a smoldering fire,” according to the statement.

“What are the odds of having the epicenter of an earthquake and a windstorm on the property a few days apart, shortly after a burn event?” the statement asked.

Verheyden’s statement alleges that his property was thinned while neighboring properties were overgrown, contributing to the spread of the blaze. He added that down trees and power poles delayed the response of firefighting crews, and his initial distress calls were not answered due to fires in other areas.

“I called 9-11 four times with no response,” Verheyden wrote. “I suspect the 9-11 call center was overwhelmed from calls on this terrible day.”

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Breakdown of costs

The Department of Forestry demand letter informed Verheyden that he was responsible for costs incurred by the state forester and contractors for controlling and extinguishing the blaze. The Bulletin obtained copies of the letter sent to Verheyden and his itemized bill.

The largest portion of the bill was a $31,735 cost for deploying a hotshot crew. Another $29,513 came from Central Oregon district personnel costs. Other costs included $6,208 for travel reimbursements and lodging plus another $484 for meals.

The Bull Springs Fire is not the only fire on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s radar for cost collection — 72 cases that are in various stages of collection, and 22 of these fires have a claim of more than $5,000.

The total amount billed for fires with a cost over $5,000 is $16.5 million, although the Archie Creek/Star Mountain Fire in Douglas County in 2020 makes up the largest share with a bill of $12.8 million, according to the Department of Forestry’s Emergency Fire Cost Committee.

Terms of the bill

Verheyden was given 90 days to satisfy the bill. Terms of the liability include a 10% interest accrual if the payment wasn’t made within the 90-day period. Neujahr said the agency cannot disclose details of how the interest accrues.

“We can’t disclose which one we are doing, but the department does have the ability to accrue interest daily, monthly or yearly. It’s at our discretion,” she said.

Following any appeal process, Hopkins said the agency has several tools to receive payment from individuals unwilling to make payments.

“ODF has the ability to make asset searches on responsible parties, take out liens, and garnish wages,” said Hopkins. “The agency can also refer outstanding debt to the Department of Revenue who has the ability to hire collection agencies, or further garnish other assets.”

Neighbors filed suit

Separately from the bill to suppress the fire, a lawsuit was filed by three neighbors who suffered property damage due to the fire. Listed defendants include Verheyden and two of his companies, Millwood LLC and Verheyden Works Inc. Verheyden’s wife, Jean Verheyden, was another listed defendant.

Eric and Kathleen Carr, Peter and Jackqueline McCook, and Christian and Patti Calande — plaintiffs in the case — are suing for around $2.4 million. A trial is planned for December, according to court records .

David Jacobs, a Eugene-based lawyer representing Verheyden, declined to provide further details of the case.

“We are in the discovery phase, and we are still working through it. It’s a long process; lawsuits take a while,” said Jacobs.

Verheyden declined to comment on the Bull Springs Fire when contacted by The Bulletin.