The Rawlins City Council authorized the city to submit a restitution request to the Carbon County Attorney's Office in the criminal prosecution arising from a grassland fire on July 6, 2024 that staff said was caused by illegal fireworks. The motion passed Jan. 7 with five yeas and two abstentions.

Attorney Mayberry, presenting the city's estimate, said the incident "did cause the biggest fire that our city has ever had to, that our city has ever experienced." The city's summary lists estimated costs for emergency response and property-related work totaling about $31,490.

Mayberry provided a breakdown in the meeting: restitution for the Rollins Fire Department for man hours and vehicle/equipment use was $13,828.50; public works materials and contracted labor to repair and replace damaged fencing were estimated in the meeting transcript as approximately $12,000 (the transcript included a partly garbled figure for this line); and water usage was estimated at about 500,000 gallons, which staff converted to roughly $2,300 using city water rates. The combined estimate presented to council was about $31,490 in city expenses.

Council members discussed options beyond seeking restitution in the criminal case, including adopting a cost-recovery ordinance that would allow the city to bill individuals for emergency response costs if incidents are caused by illegal or negligent actions. Mayberry said other jurisdictions have used such ordinances and cited examples in Idaho and Oregon where restitution in fire cases reached much larger sums.

Council then voted to authorize submission of the city's restitution request to the county prosecutor to pursue recovery. The motion passed with five votes in favor and two abstentions (Council Member Elliot and Council Member Patterson), according to the meeting record.

The council did not adopt a cost-recovery ordinance at the meeting but asked staff about next steps; Mayberry said an ordinance would require the standard ordinance process, including readings, and timing could be affected by the pending criminal trial.