The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s coal-burning locomotives have a long history of starting wildfires on public lands, with about half the firefighting costs falling on the taxpayers.

According to a 20-year snapshot of fires started by the D&SNG in the San Juan National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service has billed the railroad $1,195,265 for putting out the wildfires.

Of that amount, the D&SNG has paid only $623,078 – about half.

It is a reoccurring theme in two decades’ worth of fire investigations: A cinder from the D&SNG’s coal-burning engine will start a fire in the national forest. The Forest Service will send crews to fight the blaze. Investigators will deem the D&SNG at fault and send the railroad a bill for suppression costs.

But in almost every instance of several major fires started by the D&SNG, the railroad comes back with a lower counteroffer, often denying its locomotives were the cause of a fire.

And the Forest Service, time and again, agrees to the railroad’s marked-down offers.

In this case, a "volunteer firefighter" "discovered" the fire immediatly after the train had passed. Around here, there are lots of volunteer fire departments in small towns, and a volunteer firefighter gets convicted of arson every couple of years, i.e. he gets a little too enthusiastic for his own good.

In this case, I have no faith that the fire wasn't started by the "fire fighter". It was 37' from the track, which is near the recognized limit that locomotives can throw sparks hot enough to start a fire. He was video interviewed about it while standing on the tracks, and there is no burned vegetation in sight in the video.