August 2, 2002
The federal government took two wallops Thursday for its handling of the "Rodeo-Chediski" fire.
Controversy continued to swirl around decisions to forgo using some rural fire departments during the fire, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe announced it plans to sue someone for the "Chediski" fire.U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., is planning hearings in September on what went wrong fighting fires in Arizona and Colorado this year.
"We offered our assistance and were turned down, as were other departments," Show Low Fire Chief Ben Owens told the Associated Press. "When it was small, we might have been able to make a difference. On the second day, the fire was at our back door."
The question of whether volunteer fire departments could have made a difference in the Rodeo-Chediski fire will be only one of several topics for the hearings.
"I don't want to say that what I am hearing is rage. It is more like legitimate questions," Hayworth said. "They want to know how much better it could have been if they had been involved early."
Federal officials say it is too soon to determine whether the presence of more volunteer firefighters would have made a difference.
Meanwhile, leaders of the White Mountain Apache Tribe vowed Thursday to pursue civil claims against Valinda Jo Elliott, the 31- year-old Phoenix woman who started the Chediski fire to signal rescuers after being lost in the forest for three days.
Apache officials as well as many White Mountain residents were outraged when U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton announced he would not press criminal charges against Elliott because she acted out of necessity and could not be convicted under the law.
Tribal leaders expressed disappointment with that opinion at a meeting with Charlton and are seeking evidence that might change his decision.
"Make no mistake about our intention," tribal Chairman Dallas Massey Sr. said Thursday. "We will initiate appropriate action against those who broke our laws and who are responsible for our loss."
Elliott and a companion got lost and ran out of gas while driving through the Apache reservation. Two days after she set out on foot to seek help, Elliott spotted a helicopter and set a fire to attract attention. The Chediski blaze eventually merged with the "Rodeo" fire, which is believed to have been set by an Apache man who is being criminally prosecuted, and became the largest wildfire in Arizona history.
George Hess, tribal attorney, has said the reservation suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to timber, rangeland and tourism. Under federal law, Native American tribes may not press criminal charges against non-Indians. However, they are entitled to sue and may issue citations, similar to traffic tickets, for trespassing or other violations of reservation law.
Elliott's lawyer, David Michael Cantor, said tribal leaders are "embarrassing themselves" by pushing a criminal case that already was ruled out by federal investigators.
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