Boss accused in fatal wildfire

More than five years after a wildfire killed four U.S. Forest Service firefighters huddled inside protective fire shelters on a rocky slope in the Chewuch River Canyon, the man who was their boss has been charged with manslaughter and lying to federal investigators.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced they had filed charges against Ellreese N. Daniels, the crew boss in charge of the firefighters who died July 10, 2001, in the Thirtymile fire near Winthrop, in north-central Washington.

“We have been wondering why it took so long (to file charges). It was starting to look like they never would,” Steve Emhoff, whose son, Jason, was badly burned but survived the inferno, said Wednesday from his home in Yakima.

“I have the knowledge that my son has given me, which the families of the four that didn’t survive don’t have,” Emhoff said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Hopkins said Daniels has not been arrested. He will be summoned to a Jan. 4 appearance in federal court here on four counts of involuntary manslaughter and seven counts of making a false statement during investigations into the fatal fire.

Daniels, who has an unpublished telephone number, could not be reached for comment.

“We intend to vigorously defend Mr. Daniels of these charges. We believe that they have no merit,” said his lawyer, federal defender Tina Hunt of Spokane. “It’s appalling that the government would single out one firefighter to blame the deaths of these firefighters on. This is not a case that belongs in the criminal justice system.”

Firefighters Tom Craven, 30, Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, perished in the extreme heat of the fire inside aluminum fire shelters intended to save their lives. All were from central Washington.

Weaver’s father, Ken, told KOMO-TV of Seattle that the best memorial to his son would be better safety regulations.

“You can’t help but feel sorry for Ellreese, even though his actions were reprehensible,” Weaver added. “You always feel sorry for somebody in this kind of a pickle.”

Daniels, a seasonal Forest Service employee in East Wenatchee, no longer works as a firefighter.

Hopkins said Daniels is accused of gross negligence in the deaths for failing to order the firefighters out of harm’s way as the flames advanced and then making false statements to Forest Service and Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators.

The alleged false statements involved whether Daniels contacted fire engine crews when they arrived at the scene, whether he ordered the firefighters to come down from the rocky slope and whether he told a Forest Service employee to take two civilians into her emergency shelter, Hopkins said.

Paul Hart, a spokesman for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests, said the charges were disappointing.

“We don’t know all the details, but it’s important to remember these are just charges at this point and the process needs to work,” Hart said.

The deaths in the remote Chewuch River canyon changed the way Forest Service bosses attack wildfires.

“Our focus since Thirtymile is trying to make firefighting safer,” Hart said. “We’re doing a better job of training people to deal with unusual violent fire behavior and know when to get out.”

The four died when they were trapped by the wildfire with 10 other firefighters and two campers. Jason Emhoff was a fifth firefighter on the slope, but survived when he ran through flames to reach a nearby river. He was burned over 40 percent of his body and still has scars, his father said.

The other firefighters and the civilian campers escaped serious injuries.

A subsequent Forest Service investigation concluded fire bosses ignored numerous signs of danger, repeatedly underestimated the fire and allowed their only escape route from the dead-end canyon to be cut off. Nine employees and fire commanders were eventually reassigned from active duty, while others quit or retired. The Forest Service has never released specifics of the sanctions.

In the years since, the Forest Service and other wildland firefighting agencies have established minimum requirements for training and experience. The agency also has worked with OSHA to re-examine safety and training policies.

A federal law passed after the Thirtymile fatalities requires an outside investigation of any wildland firefighting fatalities.

The deadly blaze is believed to have been caused by an unattended campfire. No one has been charged with starting the fire.