Families of 4 who died in Thirtymile fire have pushed change

YAKIMA – Ten years have passed since an unattended campfire roared through a remote canyon in a Washington forest, killing four firefighters who were trapped on a dusty, dead-end road. The deaths prompted charges against a fire crew boss and changes in how firefighting fatalities are investigated.

For the families, today’s 10-year anniversary of the deadly Thirtymile fire marks another day in the path of grief – some days good, some bad – as they honor and remember those who perished.

“You never forget,” Virginia Craven, of Roslyn, Wash., said of losing her son, Tom. “You just kind of learn to live with it.”

Investigators never determined who started the fire that killed Tom Craven, Devin Weaver, Jessica Johnson and Karen FitzPatrick on July 10, 2001. Brought in to help fight the fire, initially thought to be a simple mop-up job, the four died in their emergency fire shelters when the blaze exploded and trapped them in an Okanogan National Forest canyon.

Ten other firefighters and two campers there survived, but a Forest Service investigation later found that fire bosses had broken all 10 of the agency’s standard safety rules and ignored numerous signs of danger on the fire line that day.

The families of the fallen firefighters sued the company that produced the protective shelters that are deployed as a last resort when flames are approaching, reaching an undisclosed settlement. The crew boss initially charged with manslaughter for the deaths pleaded guilty to making false statements to investigators in a plea deal.

Meanwhile, family members of the victims have repeatedly demanded changes at the Forest Service, from increasing training to removing the shroud of secrecy over disciplinary actions.

Congress approved legislation in 2002 requiring an independent investigation whenever a Forest Service firefighter dies in an entrapment or burnover. In 2009, another bill, sponsored by Sen. Maria Cantwell, passed requiring federal agencies to submit annual reports on firefighter training programs.

But Virginia Craven said today won’t be about the Forest Service. Tom’s two children, now 17 and 13, may travel from Las Vegas for the ceremony today, which includes a service in Winthrop and visits to a memorial built in the forest.

“I know there probably are some things that could change, but fire is so unpredictable,” she said. “They can try to be as safe as they can, but sometimes the circumstances, they’re just bad.”

Two Craven sons still work for the Forest Service fighting fires in the summer.

“I love the summers, but I think, every summer, ‘Here we go,’ ” she said of her worries about them. “But that has to be their choice, and they love to do it, and I can’t live their life for them. I’m proud of them.”

One of the more outspoken family members following the blaze, Ken Weaver, Devin Weaver’s father, adamantly pushed for punishment for Forest Service crew bosses who fail to follow safety rules.

Weaver said he’s not “Pollyanna-ish enough” to think there have been any real permanent changes from the Thirtymile fire. But he has shifted his focus in recent years, rededicating himself to his business and spending more time with his wife, Barbara, and their three grandchildren.

“I spent three years wanting to crawl in a hole and pull it in behind me, but at the end of the day, as parents, we all want our kids to be proud of us,” he said. “What got me back to normal was the understanding that one of these days I’m going to see Devin again, and that he’d be looking at me with pride for getting through this.”