A group of partygoers shooting at exploding targets on private property Saturday are thought to be responsible for starting the Ana Fire, which has burned 6,200 acres in the Summer Lake area.
Lake County District Attorney Sharon Forster said she may bring criminal charges but could also refer the case to federal officials. If charged, the group could be on the hook for millions of dollars in restitution for causing a fire that destroyed federal forest lands, a hunting cabin, a small building and a barn, she said.
“There is always that possibility,” Forster said Thursday. “It’s like anything else when you cause damage to something that belongs to someone else.”