Willful destruction of private property

This occurred in the state of Virginia, though it’s fairly universal problem.

A suspicious looking box found near Lewis-Gale Medical Center Thursday afternoon was, in fact, a remote weather station that had been affixed the tree by an employee and not an explosive device. The box, which was constructed with putty and wires, was probed by the Virginia State Police Bomb Squad. The bomb squad blew up the device before realizing it was a weather station. An employee had placed a putty-like substance around the box to make it weather proof. The investigation is concluded and no criminal charges will be filed. —The Roanoke Times

When a bomb squad destroys private property, on private property, is there a mechanism for compensation? Is that something that would be handled later via a civil suit?

I often wonder what sort of recourse people have against willful destruction of private property, whether is be a weather monitoring device, or crops.

Update: An example of a situation where I think people should act first and ask questions or make repayment later, is the July 2008 incident where police smashed a window to rescue a seemingly unconscious baby from a locked vehicle in Queensland, only to find it was an extremely lifelike doll. Automobiles are a special case, where insurance is common-place. Would this be considered vandalism?