The government says the scouts let a fire get out of hand in a forest in the Uinta Mountains in Utah, which burned down 14,000 acres of woodland.

In Utah state law whoever starts a fire has to pay for the damage, but the BSA say it's not clear whether the blaze was caused by fires they left burning.

The 2002 fire forced the scouts to abandon their campsite.

Over 1,100 firefighters were involved in putting out the blaze, which made officials close most of the north slope of the mountains.