- Hayman Fire
The Hayman Fire was a
forest fire that started southwest ofDenver ,Colorado onJune 8 ,2002 .The largest fire in Colorado's history, hundreds of forestry officials and firefighters risked their lives to fight the fast-moving inferno, which caused nearly $40 million in damages, burned 133 homes and forced the evacuation of 5,340 persons. [cite web
title = "Legal Troubles Not Over For Terry Barton"
publisher = TheDenverChannel.com
date= 2002-12-11
url = http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/1832829/detail.html
accessdate = 2006-11-03 ] The cause of the wildfire was found to be arson.A federal forestry officer, Terry Barton, who claimed she was attempting to burn a letter from her estranged husband, set the fire inside a campfire ring within an area designated for no fires due to a severe drought. The fire quickly spread out of the campfire ring and eventually torched over convert|138000|acre|km2 and burned across four different counties. A federal grand jury indicted Barton on four felony counts of arson.cite web
title = "Forest worker indicted for starting wildfire"
publisher = CNN.com
date= 2002-06-19
url = http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/06/19/colorado.fire.suspect/
accessdate = 2006-11-03 ]Ann Dow, 50, suffered a fatal asthma attack on the evening of
June 10 ,2002 when heavy smoke from the fire drifted over the Dows' home south of Florissant. She quickly lapsed into unconsciousness and paramedics could not revive her. Her death certificate lists the cause as "acute asthma attack due to or as a consequence of smoke inhalation".Five firefighters died in a traffic accident enroute to the Hayman fire from Oregon: Zach Zigich, Retah Shirley, Jacob Martindale, Danial Rama, and Bart Bailey. They died on
June 21 ,2002 and are listed in the memorial to fallen firefighters on the Wildland Firefighter Foundation's website.When then-Governor
Bill Owens responded to a reporter’s question following an aerial tour of the fires (“What does it look like up there?”), Owens said “It looks as if all of Colorado is burning today”.cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E5D6103CF935A25755C0A9649C8B63
publisher=New York Times | date=2002-06-16 | accessdate=2008-01-11 |title=Fears May Be Outpacing Reality in Colorado Fires] Many western slope residents blamed Owens for driving away tourists with the press’s truncated version of the quote (“All of Colorado is burning”).cite web |url=http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20030806/RECREATION08/308060003
publisher=Summit Daily News | date=2003-08-06 | accessdate=2008-01-11 |title=The backcountry business]Barton ultimately pleaded guilty to the arson charge [ [http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/1823532/detail.html "Barton Pleads Guilty In Hayman Fire Case"] , TheDenverChannel.com, December 7, 2002. Accessed May 20, 2007] and was given a six year sentence in federal prison. [cite web
title = "Added Term In Forest Fire"
publisher = "New York Times"
date= 2003-06-03
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE4D7123FF935A35750C0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fF%2fForest%20Service
accessdate = 2007-05-21 ] She was also ordered to reimburse the federal government $14.6 million. The State of Colorado originally sentenced Barton to 12 years in prison to run concurrently with the 6 year federal sentence. However the state sentence was overturned on appeal on grounds that the presiding judge had "the appearance of prejudice" because smoke from the fire motivated him to voluntarily leave his home for one night. [ cite web
title = "Prison Sentence Tossed Out For Hayman Firestarter"
publisher = "TheDenverChannel.com"
date = 2004-12-16
url = http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4002521/detail.html
accessdate = 2004-12-16 ] In March 2008, Barton was re-sentenced by a different judge to 15 years of probation. [ cite web
title = "Hayman fire starter won't serve state jail time"
publisher = "The Denver Post"
date = 2008-03-27
url = http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_8716909
accessdate = 2008-03-27 ]There is a band from Colorado Springs called "
The Hayman Fire " named after the blazeNotes
External links
* [http://www.wilderness.org/Library/Documents/WildfireSummary_Hayman.cfm Summary of Hayman Fire]
* [http://www.wffoundation.org/honor/thefallen.html Wildland Firefighter Foundation list of fallen firefighters]
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