But the man, painter Tom Dodds (22), says the investigation report contains "lies" and he intends taking further action.
The Fire Service investigation, released under the Official Information Act yesterday, found the cause of the fire, ignited about 4pm on January 9 on Waitaki Island, about 9km southeast of Kurow, was target shooting using a "full metal jacket" bullet with steel casing, of military origin, fired from close range into bottles set up around gorse.
The bullet ricocheted, igniting the gorse.
The user of the firearm was Tom Dodds, the report stated.
The report stated the fire burnt through 75ha of vegetation and took fire crews days to put out.
The report said the rifle firing point was identified by using the reverse trajectory of the bullet as shown by grooves in the ground and the location of the cartridge cases.
Mr Dodds had told investigators he was firing at bottles and the fire started about 30 minutes to one hour after he had finished shooting.
The investigator concluded that Mr Dodds was helpful during the investigation.
"I do not believe he understood the ignition potential of his target shooting."
On March 22 Mr Dodds, who had been camping on the site with friends, was sent the $60,194.66 invoice from the Otago Rural Fire Authority (ORFA) to cover the fire costs.
Mr Dodds, who called 111 when the fire went out of control, has vigorously denied starting it and said he would fight against paying the bill.
He said the case had caused him stress and cost him considerable time and money.
National Rural Fire Officer Kevin O’Connor said the Fire Service agreed with ORFA’s assessment of the situation that Mr Dodds started the fire when shooting.
"We believe he did and the fire investigator report supports that, but there are some issues that need further clarification and they would be costly to pursue.
"They’re quite technical and resource-hungry."
Mr O’Connor said the costs of the fire would be recovered from the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, paid for by fire insurance levies.
Mr Dodds last night disputed the report and continued to deny that he started the fire.
He said he wanted an apology for the accusation and was working on that with lawyers.
"In that report there are lies."
He would not say what part of the report he was contesting.
"All I want from them is an apology."
Mr Dodds said the whole experience left him stressed.
"Everyone thinks I didn’t do it. They all think it’s nonsense and [the accusation] should just not have happened.
"You can’t make someone look guilty for something they haven’t done. I knew I wouldn’t have to pay it — it was just a far-fetched dream for them."
The Fire Service’s report recommended ammunition retailers be made aware of the ignition potential of full metal jacket bullets and pass that information on to customers who bought the product.
And hunting clubs and other likely users of the bullet type should be educated about it.
