Questions that prompted Black Forest Fire controversy remain unanswered
Questions and statements that prompted a conflict between the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Black Forest Fire Department remained unanswered Tuesday despite the release of a report on the fire.
Last November, Black Forest Fire Chief Bob Harvey said he believed June 2013’s Black Forest Fire was started by an arsonist.
“It’s clear that this was human caused and it appears that the elements of intentional fire setting would be prevalent in the Black Forest Fire,” said Harvey.
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa fired back saying Harvey was tampering with the investigation by releasing the information. He said while investigators knew it was human caused, they did not have evidence to substantiate that it was intentionally set.
In that same interview with KRDO NewsChannel 13, Maketa questioned Harvey’s decisions while he was in command of the fire during the initial hours.
“We would have still lost homes, we would have still lost a lot of timber, but there is certainly a belief that we wouldn’t have seen the devastation that we witnessed,” said Maketa.
The Black Forest Fire Board hired an investigator to look into the allegations. The investigator said Harvey did not do anything wrong.
In May, the public elected a new fire board. During the boards first days in office, Harvey turned in a letter citing post traumatic stress disorder and went on medical leave. He eventually left his post.
In an executive summary released by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, it said the investigation is considered complete. However, investigators cannot determine if the fire was intentionally or accidentally set.
“The big question was is it intentional or was it negligent, more likely than not it was not intentional so at this point we don’t know,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Greg White.
White was asked about the relationship between the two agencies.
“I have no idea. That’s well above my level,” said White. “That’s a political issue that I am not involved in.”
Black Forest Board chair Rick McMorran said things have improved between the two agencies.
“We anticipate in the future having good working relationships with the sheriff’s office,” said McMorran.
Harvey said he was disappointed that the fire department was not involved in the investigation into the fire. However, he did not respond to KRDO’s follow-up questions about his statement on the cause of the fire.
