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CNN Live Sunday
Forestry Technician Charged With Starting Hayman Fire
Aired June 16, 2002 - 18:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we begin with a break in what started Colorado's worst wildfire ever. About an hour ago, the U.S. attorney's office announced that a forestry technician has been arrested and charged with deliberately setting the blaze. CNN's Charles Molineaux is standing by live from Castle Rock, Colorado, the command post with the latest there. Charles, this was really surprising.
CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, quite a bombshell, Carol. This is actually a criminal complaint against Terry Lynn Barton of Teller County, Colorado. She is a Forest Service worker and investigators now say she is the one who started this fire, the 103,000 acre Hayman fire about a week ago now.
This fire, of course, was originally reported as an out of control campfire and she was the one who originally reported this fire as an out of control campfire. Investigators said that was not the case. According to prosecutors, she was on patrol, patrolling a ban on campfires, reading a letter from her estranged husband, became angry and set a little fire of her own. She lit it on fire, according to the prosecutors and then thought she put it out, but apparently it hadn't been.
It grew to 103,000 acres, the biggest wildfire in Colorado history and meanwhile, of course, this news comes out as firefighters continue on the fire line. Some 2,200 of them are out there and now the Forest Service is faced with the prospect of delivering them this stupefying news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL OWENS, COLORADO: The paperwork will speak for itself, but I guess two thoughts. First of all, disappointment, and second, real pride in the assistance our state has received from the U.S. Forest Service and a concern that this apparent action by one individual not reflect negatively on the professionalism of the entire service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOLINEAUX: Terry Lynn Barton is being held in jail in Colorado Springs. She's actually going to go before a federal judge in Denver for a preliminary hearing tomorrow. Meanwhile, the fire itself is actually looking to be more closer to being under control than has been the case in a while. You know, this otherwise would have been a very positive for the Forest Service. They are reporting that they are on the verge of going into mop-up on this one.
It is still officially only 35 percent contained, but unofficially we're hearing that we will be getting word sometime later today that it is 45 to 50 percent contained, and even though there is expectation for some new rough weather on Tuesday, higher, drier winds, the expectation is that there will be enough containment on this fire that that should not be a problem. It was actually a very promising day for the Forest Service as it deals with the fire until this news came out.
One forestry official said that what we're hearing is basically unthinkable to the people whose job it is to be protecting America's forests for one of them to have been involved. But that is the allegation from the Justice Department that Terry Lynn Barton inadvertently set this fire, burning a letter. She could be getting up to ten years in prison for the charges she now faces, which include making false statements and willfully setting a fire, which basically means arson -- Carol.
LIN: Charles, could she be personally liable also for damages?
MOLINEAUX: That is a possibility, certainly, as the fines in this could run up to around a half a million dollars, but of course we're talking about a fire which has already caused tens of millions of dollars in damage and the bill to fight it is in the neighborhood of some $50 million according to the projections.
You've got 2,200 people along with planes and helicopters out there, a tremendous tab on this and it's quite likely actually just to venture a wild guess that she would indeed be liable. There are also questions as to whether the Forest Service might be liable, although they say she certainly was not acting in any physical capacity when she allegedly lit a fire in the woods. In fact, the amazing irony of this, of course, is that she was on duty looking for people who were starting illegal fires.
LIN: This news just coming in in the last hour. Thank you very much, Charles Molineaux with the latest from Castle Rock.
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