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Topic: Colorado Forest Fires (Read 698 times)

wingnut
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Colorado Forest Fires
« on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 7:29am »

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And the darwin award goes to:

The Colorado forest fires that have been raging out of control were started by a park ranger who was trying to burn a letter that she received from her ex husband!

Roll Eyes

DOH!

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Rhune
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #1 on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 10:50am »

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Some of the other fires around woodland park have been set by a pyromaniac. Angry

He's been spotted just leaping out of a car and flicking a lighter and setting shit on fire at random around the town. They haven't had rain in so long that there has been rationing on when you can do stuff like water your lawn, so it's just a tinderbox up there.

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east
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #2 on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 1:40pm »

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about eight years ago in the okanagan valley in bc (where i grew up...arid desert conditions in the summer), a young mentally challenged boy started a massive forest fire which forced many to temporarily leave their homes...(it was a brush fire which took over a mountain and valley...you could see it burning at night from over 40 miles away) although no one was hurt, it created quite a scare and plenty of animals and wildlife were displaced and died. the crazy part was that the young man was the son of the city's fire department chief! Shocked

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Rhune
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #3 on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 1:53pm »

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I was talking to my mom last night and she was saying the animal are definitely coming down into the city, to escape the fires. There were some bears running around in Denver and there were some deer on my mom's street, pretty far into town, in Colorado Springs a couple nights ago. This is not a good thing.. deer can be dangerous and all, but BEARS? eeeks

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wingnut
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I found the news article on the web
« Reply #4 on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 3:28pm »

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Colo. Ranger Held Without Bail
Mon Jun 17,12:39 PM ET
By STEPHEN PAULSON, Associated Press Writer

DENVER (AP) - A U.S. Forest Service technician accused of starting the wildfire that has blackened nearly 103,000 acres and destroyed 22 homes appeared in court in handcuffs Monday and was ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors said Terry Barton, 38, started the fire June 8 while burning a letter from her estranged husband, then lied to investigators about it. If convicted of all charges she could be sentenced to a total of up to 20 years in prison and be fined $250,000.

Barton looked down as the charges against her were read in court. Her voice quavered as she told U.S. Magistrate Michael Watanabe that she understood she could be sentenced to prison.

U.S. Attorney John Suthers asked Watanabe to keep Barton held without bail pending a preliminary hearing.

"She would return to a community in which there is considerable hostility towards her and she could be considered a flight risk," Suthers said.

Barton was charged with setting fire to timber in a national forest, damaging federal property and making false statements to investigators, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Leone.

At the time the fire broke out, Barton was assigned to patrol the Pike National Forest in central Colorado to enforce a fire ban imposed because of a drought.

Barton, an 18-year Forest Service employee, said she burned the letter within a designated campfire ring, where fires normally would be allowed.

"She attempted to suppress the fire but it grew," Leone said.

Wind drove the fire to within 10 miles of Denver's far southwestern suburbs last week, or 40 miles from the city limits. Calmer, cooler weather and higher humidity helped crews dig lines around 47 percent of the blaze Sunday, but about 5,400 people remained out of their homes.

The air was calm Monday in Denver, where a faint, smoky haze hung in the air. Afternoon temperatures were expected to jump into the 80s and 90s.

Barton lives in Florissant, about 60 miles southwest of Denver. The city was among the hardest hit by the blaze, and many homes were evacuated.

"We all wanted to believe it was some fool from somewhere else. You can understand that, we don't want to believe it. That it's one of ours makes it real sad," said Jody Penny, 45, who was evacuated from Florissant Heights on Tuesday.

Barton initially told authorities she smelled smoke, discovered an illegal campfire and tried to put it out by throwing dirt on it. Investigators later determined she could not have smelled smoke from the position she reported.

Another blaze flared in southwest Colorado and had forced the evacuation of about than 860 homes by Sunday night. It had burned more than 26,000 acres in the San Juan National Forest, about 10 miles north of Durango.

Residents of an additional 450 homes were told to be ready to leave. One cabin was destroyed, and fire managers were trying to determine whether others had burned.

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DanDC99
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #5 on: Jun 17^th, 2002, 5:41pm »

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Unfortunately, she doesnt qualify for the Darwin award, since she didnt kill herself in the process....

One can only hope that someday she will make it Wink

How stupid can you be?

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Rhune
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #6 on: Jun 19^th, 2002, 10:08am »

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Authorities are saying now that the letter theory doesn't ring true either, and that it looks like she deliberately set the fire.

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Kramer
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #7 on: Jun 19^th, 2002, 10:12am »

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I saw that yesterday and was going to post it, I guess I forgot Roll Eyes

Yeah, the article I read said that based on the forensics of how the fire was set up and the way that it actually burned, it looked like a "staged" campfire out of control, but was really intentional.

I wonder what kind of whacko it takes to dedicate your life to forestry, only to one day burn it all down. Not to mention all of the animal lives lost and homes destroyed.

I hope they throw the book at her.

Looks like her husband was smart to leave, that might have been his bed one day.

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Now this looks like a job for Detroit,
So everyone, just follow Steve,
'Cause we need another cup, can't you see,
'Cause it feels so empty without Stanley!

Hockeytown - Home of the Detroit Red Wings
*Go Wings Go*

DanDC99
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Re: Colorado Forest Fires
« Reply #8 on: Jun 19^th, 2002, 10:26am »

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I will never understand that hero need... you also hear occasionally about fire fighters who start a fire to be the hero and put it out...

I know I dont go around tripping people so I can look good when I fix their backs... Just plain weird.

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