Fire survivors dispute Forest Service report

Associated Press

LEAVENWORTH — Some of the firefighters who were trapped in the Thirty-mile fire dispute the U.S. Forest Service’s contention that the four who died may have disregarded an order that could have saved their lives.

Six people out of a crew of 14 deployed their emergency fire shelters on a rock slope above the Chewuch River Road. Two eventually fled — one to the river and one to a van — and the four who remained died from breathing superheated air.

The rocks got extraordinarily hot when the fire burned over, and the uneven surface prevented firefighters from getting a good seal on the ground with their shelters.

The other firefighters who survived, along with two campers, all deployed their shelters on the road.

In its report released Wednesday, the Forest Service said those who deployed on the rocks were told repeatedly beforehand by crew boss Ellreese Daniels to gather on the road.

"I didn’t hear it," firefighter Nick Dreis said at a news conference Thursday. "I talked to other people there. They didn’t hear it."

Tom Craven, 30, of Ellensburg, and Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, all of Yakima, died July 10 when the Thirty-mile fire blew up in the Okanogan National Forest.

While lead investigator Jim Furnish, a deputy chief for the Forest Service, acknowledged that Daniels may not have issued military-style orders for the trapped firefighters to assemble on the road, he did call them to the road several times.

The Forest Service report cites Daniels and firefighters Thom Taylor and Matthew Rutman as saying Daniels called people to the road. Rutman now disputes that.

Rutman and firefighter Elaine Hurd said they never heard such an order.

But another firefighter, Armando Avila, said he does remember Daniels calling everyone to the road.

Craven’s widow, Evelyn, complained Wednesday that it sounded as if the Forest Service were trying to blame the victims. She also said her husband was not the type to be insubordinate or disobey a command.

"They’re not here to defend themselves. Somebody’s got to stand up for them," Dreis said.

The Forest Service report said the deaths were preventable, and cited numerous mistakes made by fire managers and supervisors, including breaking or disregarding basic firefighting safety rules and failing to recognize the potential fire danger.

Rutman, Dreis and Hurd said the report was properly critical of management decisions made that day.

"I hope that some good things can come out of it," Dreis said.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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