Remarks on deadly Arizona fire lead to backlash

• It was the largest loss of life fighting a wildfire since 1933
• The fire scorched 13 square miles about 65 miles northwest of Phoenix
• About 115 structures were destroyed

PHOENIX — State forestry officials distanced themselves from comments by Arizona's deputy state forester in which he allegedly asserted that the supervisor of an elite firefighting team violated safety rules designed to keep his crew safe.

The comments attributed to Jerry Payne, deputy director of the Arizona State Forestry Division, prompted a barrage of criticism, infuriating fire officials in the Granite Mountain Hotshots' home base of Prescott, Ariz., and drawing condemnation from his own agency.

The Forestry Division issued a statement Tuesday saying the comments were "personal, unauthorized opinions" that should not have been made public because official investigations have not been completed.

Nineteen firefighters died June 30 in the Yarnell Hill Fire, including Eric Marsh, the hotshot boss who was the subject of Payne's critique. An independent journalism blog, Investigative Media, reported that Marsh deviated from firefighting protocols by leading his crew into an unsafe area without support from a lookout.

It quoted Payne as saying Marsh "broke those rules and put those people at risk."

Payne allegedly added that Marsh should have posted a lookout to track the fire and should not have taken his men into a blind hollow filled with dense, dry vegetation.

"It was a serious miscalculation," he purportedly said.

Payne's agency, which was responsible for firefighting operations the day the men died, commissioned an investigation from a team of outside experts. Payne is not a member of the team, but he is a veteran wildfire commander with access to details about the tragedy.

Payne told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that he was misquoted and misrepresented in the online article. He said the report's author, John Dougherty, "went way, way outside of what I believe I told him. I did not say Marsh broke the rules."

Hours later, State Forester Scott Hunt disavowed the comments attributed to Payne.

"State Forestry apologizes for Mr. Payne's inappropriate expression of opinion as fact and unfounded speculation that prejudges the ultimate conclusion of the investigation," the statement said. Hunt said his agency has taken no position on causes of the deaths pending the outcome of independent investigations.

Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo angrily denounced the criticism against Marsh, whom he described as "one of the most intelligent and one of the hardest-working people" he has known.

"I think that it's one of the most disgusting incidents that I've had in my entire career, for somebody that would give this kind of information," Fraijo said. "There's an investigation that is taking place, the investigation is not complete. ... (This) is so insensitive and, quite frankly to me, unethical."

Referring to Marsh, Fraijo added, "He was a person that took his profession to the science level. I can tell you, if he was here right now, I would do the same thing that most of our people would do — I would follow him anywhere. This is a terrible insult to him and his family, and it's unfounded."

Earlier Tuesday, before Hunt disavowed Payne's comments, forestry spokesman Jim Paxon assailed Dougherty's report as a "lie."

"Jerry Payne says he did not utter any words that condemned or pointed a finger at Eric Marsh," Paxon said. "Mr. Dougherty took extreme liberties and drew his own conclusions. ... This is a textbook example of yellow journalism."

Dougherty responded: "I didn't make that up. They are really trying to backpedal something that was easily expressed by Payne. I wasn't prying the stuff out of him."

The journalist said Payne called him Tuesday to request a technical clarification but did not say he was misquoted. He said Payne told him during the conversation, "'I may lose my job. I expect to hear from the Governor's Office.'"

The Yarnell Hill blaze took more firefighter lives than any U.S. wildfire in the past 80 years. During a tour of the fatal scene last week, authorities confirmed that the Granite Mountain Hotshots had been safe in a previously burned area just minutes before they descended into a chaparral-choked valley. At that point, they were unable to see that monsoon storms caused the fire to reverse direction and blow up. Flames raced around a mountain and trapped the 19 men, who died trying to take shelter in fire-resistant blankets.

In an interview with The Republic last week, Payne hinted at miscalculations by the hotshots but emphasized that fire conditions are fluid, so crews constantly re-evaluate safety precautions and risks.

"You can kind of see there were things done wrong," he said, referring to the Granite Mountain crew. "But I will tell you, in fighting fire, we've all done things wrong. ... I don't know why they left the black. It just doesn't make any sense to me."

Wildland firefighters adhere to fundamental safety guidelines that require lookouts, communications, escape routes and safety zones. The protocols are delineated in 10 Standard Fire Orders and 18 Watch Out Situations.

On Tuesday, Paxon confirmed that Marsh was designated as a group supervisor while on the fire line before the accident and ceded command of the hotshots to Capt. Jesse Steed although Marsh remained with them. Paxon said it remains unclear why the crew abandoned the safety of a burned-out area.

"How that decision was made, and who made it, we don't know," Paxon said.

Wade Ward, a spokesman for the Prescott Fire Department, described the Investigative Media article as "unfortunate."

"The state forestry office created this emergency," Ward said. "And we're doing our best to respond to it."

Andrew Wilder, spokesman for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, said the governor "was troubled with unauthorized comments that expressed opinion as fact," but he had no information on whether Payne faces discipline or dismissal.

The cause of the 19 fatalities is under review by a Serious Accident Investigation Team, which is expected to release its findings in mid-September. Carrie Templin, a public-information officer who previously was the team's spokeswoman, said investigators would have no comment on the Investigative Media article.

Dougherty said he published his report not to point a finger of blame but to explain how 19 men got killed:

"If the state of Arizona is saying there was a problem with Granite Mountain's decision-making, that's important to know. What happened? And what can be done to keep it from happening again," Dougherty said. "If Payne loses his job because he was honest, there's something wrong with that."