- DENVER (Reuters) - The U.S.
Forest Service said on Sunday one of its own officers had been charged
with touching off a huge wildfire southwest of Denver, as firefighters
continued to battle several stubborn blazes in Colorado.
-
- Terry Barton, 38, was arrested on Sunday without incident,
said Bill Leone, first assistant U.S. Attorney for Colorado. The officer,
who told authorities she was burning a letter from her estranged husband
when the fire got out of control, was patrolling the area where the fire
started on June 8.
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- According to Leone, Barton admitted starting the Hayman
fire in an abandoned campground in the Pike National Forest after investigators
confronted her with inconsistent statements she made earlier about discovering
the fire.
-
- A veteran of more than 18 years with the service, Barton
had been charged with three criminal counts: setting fire to timber in
a national forest, damaging federal property in excess of $1,000 and making
false statements to investigators.
-
- In convicted on all the charges, she faces up to 15 years
in prison and $500,000 in fines.
-
- Leone was joined at a news conference announcing the
arrest by Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and other U.S. Forest officials.
-
- "We feel horrible about this," Rick Cables
of the Forest Service told reporters. "It's a tragic situation."
-
- Colorado, like other Rocky Mountain states, is in the
grip of a severe drought, making timber bone dry and vulnerable to either
lightning strikes or flying embers from man-made fires left unattended.
-
- The Hayman fire, the largest in state history, started
10 days ago and has burned 25 homes and consumed about 103,000 acres about
55 miles southwest of Denver.
-
- Colorado Owens said Barton's "act should not detract
from the fine work of the U.S. Forest Service."
-
- Firefighters made headway in containing the blaze on
Sunday, and had it about 47 percent contained by late Sunday afternoon,
said fire information officer Larrry Helmerick.
-
- MISSIONARY RIDGE FIRE
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- High winds continue to make firefighting efforts difficult
in another big wildfire burning in southwest Colorado. The Missionary Ridge
fire near Durango grew to more than 23,000 acres on Sunday, up from 19,460
acres on Saturday.
-
- "That's the one we're watching because we're not
getting any breaks from the weather down there, and it could really blow
up big time today," fire information officer Keven Huffstutler said
earlier on Sunday.
-
- Authorities said 30 mph winds and single-digit humidity
in the Durango area made the fire particularly dangerous. The blaze has
been growing steadily since it broke out a week ago, forcing the evacuations
of 337 residents in two neighborhoods north of Durango.
-
- A U.S. Forest Service truck was destroyed, but crews
made a "dramatic" stand and stopped flames from burning into
a subdivision less than 50 feet away, Huffstutler said. About 900 state
and federal firefighters are battling the blaze, burning through parched
ponderosa pine and oak brush.
-
- Firefighters were making headway on Sunday against the
Hayman fire as softer winds and higher humidity allowed them to begin to
contain the blaze in the Pike National Forest, said Linda Hecker, spokeswoman
for the U.S. Forest Service.
-
- "Ground crews in the past few days have cut 97 miles
of fire lines, and they've held, which is really encouraging," Hecker
said, adding that about 2,000 firefighters were on scene.
-
- Flames from the fire did not directly threaten the greater
Denver area, although shifting winds have caused smoke to drift over the
city over the past week.
-
- Six major wildfires continued burning over the weekend
in Colorado. The federal government has designated the entire state a disaster
area, and bans on open fires and fireworks are in place in all state and
federal parks.
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