Thirtymile fire commander gets three-month jail term

The incident commander on the Thirtymile fire that killed four young firefighters in 2001 will serve three months in jail under work-release supervision as one condition of three years of federal probation.

The sentence was imposed Wednesday on Ellreese N. Daniels, a 47-year-old U.S. Forest Service employee, four months after he struck a plea bargain to avoid going to trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.

The case has sparked nationwide attention. It’s the first time an incident commander has faced federal criminal charges associated with decision-making leading to wildfire fatalities.

Daniels pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanors – making false statements during the Forest Service investigation into events surrounding the July 10, 2001, fire about 22 miles north of Winthrop in north-central Washington.

The fire, in the Chewuch River Canyon in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, claimed the lives of firefighters Tom Craven, 30; Devin Weaver, 21; Jessica Johnson, 19; and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, all from central Washington.

They died after deploying fire shelters in the steep-walled river canyon after the out-of-control wildfire cut off their escape route back down a road they had traveled with Daniels, who had decided to re-engage the wildfire after unsuccessful efforts earlier in the day.

The incident commander, nine other firefighters and two civilians camping in the area survived by remaining on the road in fire shelters, only a few feet from the victims, who deployed their tents up a hillside on a rock outcropping.

Daniels admitted he lied when he told investigators that he didn’t remember talking to crews on two fire tenders, who were supposed to check in with him.

The second charge concerned Daniels, as the fire boss, lying about ordering the four firefighters to come down from the rock scree, where they later died.

His sentencing capped an emotional five-hour hearing in which members of all the victims’ families addressed the court.

At least two of the family representatives said their anger and anguish was amplified when Daniels gave investigators a statement that essentially blamed the victims for not following an order he later admitted was never given.

“He is blaming people who cannot speak for themselves,” while claiming to be a victim himself, said Brooke Blevins, whose cousin, Jessica Johnson, died in the fire.

Kathy FitzPatrick addressed the court, wearing her late daughter’s shoes and charred wristwatch – stopped at 5:29.

“I feel cheated there wasn’t a trial,” she told the judge.

FitzPatrick said the firefighters’ deaths were preventable, and she said the Forest Service hasn’t learned anything from the tragedy.

Ken Weaver, whose son died in the fire, said government officials who put their employees in harm’s way must not be above the law and shouldn’t be protected by bureaucratic immunity.

In the handling of the Thirtymile fire, the Forest Service broke its own rules and “abandoned common sense,” Weaver told the court.

“I’m not here to eulogize my son … and I’m not here seeking revenge,” Weaver said. “I just want the system to be healed. I want the killing to stop.”

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle said he was sentencing Daniels for lying during the Forest Service investigation, not for events on the day of the fatalities.

“The circumstances here were extremely unusual,” the judge said. “Mistakes were made. I don’t know if it was predictable by anybody.”

“I don’t think the cause of these peoples’ sad, tragic deaths was yours,’ ” the judge told Daniels, who declined to make any comments to the court.

“The untruthfulness in the statements made (by you) are the concerns on my part,” the judge told the defendant.

Under sentencing guidelines, the judge could have sentenced Daniels to no jail time or up to six months.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Hopkins urged the court to impose a four-month sentence and fine him $1,000.

Although he admitted to lying during the investigation, Daniels’ acceptance of responsibility “has been marginal,” the prosecutor told the court.

Hopkins said he believes Daniels may have been reluctant to tell the crews to come down from the rock scree and deploy their survival tents because such decision-making is viewed as cowardice among some firefighters.

Tina Hunt, an assistant federal defender, urged the court to give Daniels no jail time; she said that he, too, is a victim.

“This man also was endangered along with everybody else,” Hunt told the court.

Whether Daniels should have even been charged with a crime was beyond his control, the judge said, but he’s left with the sentencing decision.

He told the packed courtroom: “Whatever I do will not be adequate. Some people will think it’s too much; some people will think it’s inadequate.”

The judge also ordered Daniels to undergo mental health and alcohol dependency evaluations.

After separate administrative actions by the Forest Service, Daniels was barred from any future firefighting roles. He remains a seasonal employee of the agency, working in a supply warehouse.