It seems a George Mason University student needs to learn some lessons in fire safety. In his quest to make some sort of political statement, he managed to torch a couple acres of woodland and himself as well. He's facing felony charges for burning the woods as he should (the flag burning charges will almost certainly get tossed.)

After all, we have a Colorado farmer who started a grass fire with his tractor who is facing fines for something that was purely an accident. If a person can be fined for a pure accident, then someone should be liable for deliberately starting a fire in an irresponsible manner.

Since the Colorado story is a temporary link, here's the full text:

Rancher who started wildfire might be billed

The Associated Press

BERTHOUD -- Investigators are debating whether to charge a rancher for a 1,200-acre wildfire he accidentally started while clearing a trail.

The fire near Carter Lake didn't cause any serious structural damage, but more than 50 homes were evacuated.

Neil Sprague may be forced to pay some of the bill from three days of firefighting that involved about 200 workers and several water drops from helicopters.

"It's distinctly possible," said Lee Scott, lead investigator with the Berthoud Fire Protection District. "Hopefully we're wrong."

Fire officials said Sprague made a "heroic effort" to put out the fire, which was fanned by winds gusting up to 70 mph.

It is not clear how much the firefighting bill could be. A half-dozen agencies that helped fight the fire will confer on costs and payment options, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said.

"This is going to be an extremely expensive fire," Alderden said. "It could easily be a quarter of a million dollars, maybe much more."

Sprague, 67, said he started the wildfire as he operated a tractor on a rugged hillside about two miles south of Carter Lake on Wednesday. He was clearing a trail for his cattle, he said.

The tractor's bucket scraped across a boulder, causing a spark that ignited dry grass, he said. Crews called in from around the state and as far away as South Dakota got the fire under control Thursday after the wind died down.

"I'm hoping and praying they'll realize it was an accident," Sprague said. "I don't see why I should be totally responsible. I'm really stressed about the situation."