The Gazette
BLACK FOREST, Colo. — On the same day the Black Forest fire chief said the Black Forest fire “probably” was intentionally set, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa received a report from investigators that he said added more credibility that the blaze was an accident.
Maketa announced those findings in the wake of remarks that Chief Bob Harvey made to the Black Forest Fire Department board Wednesday night. He also quickly and harshly criticized the chief.
The fire, which started June 11 and destroyed 488 homes and killed two people, was determined to be human-caused in June. But investigators, including members of the Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Forest Service, said they had not determined whether it was accidental or intentional. Maketa said charges of negligence could be filed even if the fire is determined to be accidental.
At Wednesday’s board meeting, Harvey said the fire was likely intentionally set, but did not divulge what led him to that conclusion, according to a KRDO-TV report.
Harvey clammed up Thursday, however, and said he would not talk about the issue as he walked into Centennial Hall shortly after 10 a.m.
“I am not going to comment any more at this time,” Harvey said just before a Board of County Commissioners work session to discuss proposed changes to the fire code.
Maketa lambasted Harvey in a news release Thursday.
“His comments are nothing more than an attempt to mislead the public and a mere witch hunt,” Maketa said in the statement. “Numerous national experts and federal resources have been involved in this investigation and have not and cannot substantiate Chief Harvey’s unqualified, knee-jerk claims.”
He criticized Harvey for talking about an investigation that he was not involved in, and accused him of mishandling the early response to what became the state’s most destructive wildfire.
“He does not know the point of origin and has been less than truthful about other circumstances with this disaster and just may be merely covering his own mishandling of this event in an attempt to avoid responsibility for allowing the fire to get out of hand,” Maketa said in the statement.
“Furthermore, this chief didn’t even know homes were burning at a time several were engulfed and never even requested evacuations of nearby households as the fire rapidly grew out of control, clearly placing citizens’ safety in jeopardy.”
Maketa continued to attack the credibility of Harvey in a phone interview with The Gazette on Thursday afternoon. He said there have been several instances in which Harvey’s interactions with the Sheriff’s Office showed a “pattern of bizarre behavior.”
The sheriff said Harvey accused El Paso County Deputy Fire Marshal Scott Campbell on two separate occasions, but further investigation revealed the claims to be unsubstantiated.
In the first, Harvey accused Campbell of safety violations. Maketa later learned that Campbell wasn’t in the region at the time of Harvey’s claims. In the second accusation, Harvey apparently filed a complaint saying Campbell burned down a house while using a back burn procedure during the Black Forest fire.
“I took that pretty seriously,” Maketa said.
The sheriff ordered an investigation and his detectives discovered that the house was “fully involved” when Campbell started the back burn to save another structure, Maketa said. “We had independent witnesses to prove that wasn’t true,” he said.
Maketa also cited claims by Sheriff’s Office fire investigators who he said have seen Harvey at alleged arson sites around the county. The investigators told the sheriff that the Black Forest fire chief was “kicking around” in areas that were still smoking and “tampering with our investigation.”
Commissioner Darryl Glenn said Thursday he was shocked when he heard about Harvey’s comments about the source of the Black Forest fire. He said the first the commissioners heard of the fire possibly being set intentionally was Thursday morning during a news report.
Glenn would not address Maketa’s accusations that Harvey allowed the Black Forest fire to get out of hand. The commissioner did, however, say he understands the sheriff’s frustration with Harvey announcing that the fire was set intentionally.
Glenn said that all officials involved need to “get on the same page” before any such announcements are made.
“I am equally frustrated,” Glenn said.
“We have a responsibility to the public to provide accurate information. I’ve heard speculation (about the cause and manner) and that’s the problem.
“We don’t go off speculation,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for the investigation to conclude.”
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