The State - News from July 13, 1988

The Forest Service may seek civil penalties--but will not file criminal charges--against two San Diego-area brothers who accidentally set a 2,200-acre wildfire outside Yosemite National Park, authorities said. The Sierra National Forest will attempt to recover part of the $1 million it cost to fight the fire, which damaged the Merced River watershed and some rangeland, a spokesman said. Darrin Goodwin and his brother, Brandon, both in their mid-20s, turned themselves in and told authorities they were passing a flare gun when it accidentally discharged July 2, setting the grass on fire in the river canyon 4 miles west of Yosemite. The fire was finally controlled Thursday. The Goodwins reported the fire but left the scene and turned themselves in Friday.