Comment on That 6-week standoff in Oregon will probably cost the government millions of dollars

InsiderBURNS, Ore. (Reuters) - The cost of the six-week standoff in rural Oregon that ended peacefully on Thursday will likely cost millions of dollars, with local and state agencies looking to the federal government - and the arrested occupiers - to shoulder the bulk of the bills. The total outlay may not be known for weeks or months, but the remote location of the occupation, at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the eastern part of the state, combined with the complexity of the law enforcement response, suggest a costly operation, said Brian Levin, a criminal justice expert at California State University San Bernardino. "When you have an unpredictable occupation like this you have to free up a lot of personnel assets and resources," Levin said.