church camp fire report

7/30/2019 Church Camp Fire Report

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Incident No: 000123

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DIVISION OF FORESTRY, FIRE & STATE LANDS

INCIDENT REPORT

NATURE OF INCIDENT: Wildland Fire (Church Camp)

STATUTE: (State) UCA 65A-3-4 Liability for causing Wildland Fire

DATE: 06/24/2012

INCIDENT NO: UT-MES-000123 (Duchesne County)

SUSPECT[S]: Unknown

LOCATION: T. 11 S., R. 11 E., SLB&M

Section: 16, SE 1/4: (GPS N 395134.97- W 1104118.9)

NARRATIVE:

Synopsis:

The fire was located south of Argyle Canyon on land owned by the School and Institutional Trust

Lands Administration (SITLA). The fire origin is located on the west side of a large slash pile that


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was created during a logging operation on adjacent SITLA property. The slash pile is located

on the top of a ridge and south of a landing that was used to collect trees and logs from the

surrounding harvested area. It was apparent that the slash pile had been burned prior to the

Church Camp Fire. According to representatives from SITLA this slash pile was burned on

December 2, 2010 by SITLA staff. The Church Camp Fire advanced northward pushed by

south/southwest winds. The fire consumed approximately 7,211 acres of state, private and

national forest land. Several cabins and other structures were destroyed by the fire. Theestimated suppression cost of the Church Camp Fire was $5,700,000.

A dead bull Elk was discovered by firefighters a short distance from the origin area of the fire.

The Elk was near the outer edge of the fire and was not burned. The Elk had an arrow in it

and appeared to have been shot around the same time that the fire started. The Division of Wildlife

Resources is investigating the Elk incident and at this point there is no evidence that the fire and

poaching incidents are related.

Background:

The Church Camp Fire was first reported at 18:02 on 6/24/2010 by Lana Wolsky (801

602-3079). The Duchesne County Fire Warden was dispatched at 18:08 and arrived on the

fire at 19:57. I was requested to investigate the Church Camp Fire on 06/26/2012. I arrived

at the Incident Command Post (ICP) which had been set up near the east side of Camp

Timberline, which is a youth camp owned and operated by the LDS Church, on the afternoon

of 06/26. The fire was burning actively to the north and suppression resources were working

the fire. I spoke with Ken Ludwig who works for the Division of Forestry, Fire & Sate Lands


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(FFSL) and was among the initial attack personnel who originally responded to the fire on 6/24.

Ken directed me to the location where they first engaged the fire on the night of 6/24. He also

told me that the camp managers of the youth camp had arrived on the scene of the fire before

the initial attack resources. The camp managers drove into the area of the ICP as I was talking

with Ken so I asked them to show me where the fire was burning when they arrived and tell

me what they knew about the early stages of the fire.

Camp Managers Mont Jensen and CR Charlesworth along with their wives lead me to the area

where they first observed the fire and showed me where it was burning when they first observed

it. They indicated that it was burning below (east) of the main access road that we were parked

upon and below (north) of a ridge located to the south. They indicated that they later returned

to the fire in the camp truck and constructed some fire-line with shovels to keep the fire from

moving westward.

I left the fire on the evening of 6/26 and returned on 7/11 with DWR officers, on 7/19 with

representatives from SITLA, on 8/15 with the loggers, Jeff & Sam Fabrizio and again on 10/2

with SITLA staff.

INVESTIGATION:

Investigator Jason Curry and I performed an extensive evaluation of the origin area of the fire

on 7/11. We walked the area of the fire where Mr. Jensen and Mr. Charlesworth told us that

they had first observed the fire on the day that it started. We traced burn indicators back to the

area of the slash pile on the ridge at the south end of the fire. We observed loose ash within

the slash pile and when I walked across the top of it, approximately in the center of the pile, both

of my feet went into ash nearly up to my knees and it felt like my shoes were getting warm.

The loose ash seemed to indicate that the pile was burned recently. We observed that there


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were burn patterns on a clump of trees immediately northwest of the slash pile that indicated the

fire had moved from the south to the north. There is a logging road and landing which are clear

of any vegetation or fuels that could carry a fire northward. We observed another clump of trees

on the north side of the first clump and located on the north side of the logging road and west

of the landing. This clump of trees is about 30 feet north of the first clump and had similar burn

patterns to the first clump of trees indicating that the fire advanced from the south to the north

originating on the south side of the road. It is likely that hot embers from the first clump of treeslocated on the south side of the logging road could have been carried by the wind northward across

the logging road to the second clump of trees. Burning embers likely spotted from the clump

of trees on the north side of the logging road down the drainage and started fires below.

The winds at the time of the fire and the following day (6/24 & 25) were blowing primarily from

the south/south west/southeast. This was verified by firefighters and information collected from

a UDOT remote weather station located on Highway 191 approximately 4 miles northwest of the

fire origin. The tabular information from a UDOT weather station is included in Exhibit E. The

wind direction and burn indicators clearly confirm the movement of the fire from the south to the

north. The fact that the west side of the slash pile was burning when initial attack resources

arrived, which necessitated construction of a scratch-line to prevent the fire from creeping to the

south and west, is further confirmation that the fire started on the west side of the large/previously

burned slash pile.

None of the witnesses from Camp Timberline recalled any lightning activity the day that the fire

started or for a few days previous. Lightning detection information was obtained covering the

period of 6/9/2012 at 00:00 hours to 6/24/2012 at 19:59 hours. The lightning information

indicates that there were three lightning strikes on 6/15 all of which were at least three miles

north of the origin of the Church Camp Fire. The lightning detection information is included in

Exhibit C.

Map 1 in Exhibit A shows the approximate location of the fire origin and the location of the dead


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Elk. Map 2 shows the general origin area and the approximate adjacent fire perimeter. Aerial

photos (AP) 1, 2, 3 and 4 were provided by SITLA and show the location of the slash pile adjacent

to the origin area of the fire. AP 1 is from Google Earth and is dated 8/19/2010 and shows

the location of the subject slash pile and logging equipment. AP 1 also seems to show that there

is no large slash pile which could indicate that the pile was burned prior to the photo. Google

photo AP 2 is dated 10/2/2011 and shows that the logging equipment has been removed. AP

3 was printed from Bing and although it does not show a date, given the fact that the loggingequipment is still on site it was likely taken sometime around 9/14/2011. The timeline provided

by SITLA indicates that logging was completed in August of 2011 in Unit 1 where the subject slash

pile is located. AP 4 is a close up of AP 3. All three aerial photos clearly show burnt areas

around the subject slash pile, primarily on the south and west sides. These APs substantiate

that the subject slash pile was burned prior to September of 2011. SITLA staff has reported that

this slash pile was burned in December of 2010.

Photos are located in Exhibit B. Photo 1 (looking southwest) shows the general origin area of

the fire which is located on the west side of the previously burned slash pile. This photo also

shows a burnt area at the base of a tree located approximately 25 feet southwest and below the

general origin area. There is also a burnt log lying on the west side of the tree as shown in

Photo 3. There is no evidence that the tree and burnt log are related to the origin of the Church

Camp Fire. There are no burn indicators or damage that would indicate that the fire moved from

the burnt tree or log into the general origin area or that the damage to the tree and log were recent.

There is also a tree with fire charring located approximately 200 feet west of the general origin

area. This tree had a burnt area around the trunk but had green grass stems growing within it

so it also had no connection with the Church Camp Fire. The burnt log in Photo 3 could have

rolled to its current location as a result of the slash pile burning that occurred in December of

2010. The trees could have been damaged from previous lightning strikes that occurred prior

to the Church Camp Fire. Photo 2 shows the logging road with the clump of trees on the north

side of the logging road in the foreground (Clump # 2) and in the background the clump of trees

on the southwest side of the slash pile (Clump #1) and to the left of these trees is the remains


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of the previously burned slash pile.

As stated above, the fire moved into the clump of trees on the south side of the logging road

(Clump1) and west of the general origin area and spotted in to the clump of trees on the north

side of the logging road (Clump 2). From there it spotted down-hill carried by southerly winds

into the abundant fuel below and spread to the north. Photo 4 shows the area to the north of

the origin where the fire advanced northward.

During my initial interview with Mont Jensen on 6/26 he told me that he and his wife were driving

out of the camp on June 24th at about 1800, as they started out of the gate, headed west, they

turned around and noticed smoke that they thought was coming from the east side of the camp.

They turned around and drove toward the smoke. Mr. Jensen further stated that when they

discovered where the fire was they called 911 and headed back to their cabin at the camp. On

the way back to the cabin Mr. and Mrs. Jensen reported seeing what they described as a red

color rail or go-cart traveling in the opposite direction of the fire and moving at a high rate of speed.

They reported that the driver was wearing a yellow helmet and seemed to be about 14 years

old (they mentioned that the driver was a youth in their witness statement). They said that the

rail or go-cart turned down the pole-line and headed into the bottom of the canyon. The

pole-line is located just west of Camp Timberline and has a road or trail that heads northward

towards the bottom of Argyle Canyon. There are numerous cabins located within the canyon.

I provided the information about the go-cart to the Duchesne County Sheriffs office and local

DWR officer who have assisted in locating the vehicle and driver with no success as of the date

of this report.

Mr. Jensen also told me that Glen Robinsons (DOB 11/48) Son, (I have since learned that his

name is Brett (DOB 7/77)), contacted Mr. Jensen the Friday before the fire (6/22) and asked

if they could trade keys to the camp gate and the private gate from the bottom of Argyle Canyon

leading to the Robinson cabin. Mr. Jensen agreed to the exchange and on Saturday (6/23)


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Brett Robinsons Son (Glen Robinsons Grandson) showed up to make the key exchange. When

Mr. Jensen asked where his dad was the boy said that his dad was tending a fire or fires and

could not make it. I asked Mr. Jensen if he was aware of the Robinsons doing any burning in

the area and he said no.

I asked Mr. Jensen when was the last time that he saw the loggers in the area and he said that

they were there the Friday before the fire and hauled out a couple of loads of logs. I asked himif he was aware of the loggers or anyone else burning slash piles or any other burning activity

and he said no. I asked him if he smelled any smoke during the day of the fire or before and

he said no.

Mr. Jensen told me that he had heard that there was a slash pile that was burned last fall and

started on fire again this year. I spoke with Duchesne County Fire Warden Nathan Robinson

and asked him if he was aware of the slash pile that Mr. Jensen referenced to. Nathan told

me that there was a slash pile on Avantiquin Ridge on the west side of SR-191 and several miles

west of the Church Camp Fire that was burned last fall and did re-ignite this spring. The

re-ignition was likely due to the very light snowpack and lack of precipitation during the past winter

and spring. According to SITLA, the slash pile adjacent to the origin of the Church Camp fire

was burned in December of 2010. If that were the case it would be highly unlikely that there

would have been enough retained heat to re-ignite this particular pile given the high amount of

snowfall and rain that occurred during the winter and spring of 2010/11. As I mentioned before,

there was considerable accumulation of fluffy ash within the pile that would indicate that the pile

may have been burned more recently but there is no evidence that it was.

A witness statement from Mr. & Mrs. Jensen is attached in Exhibit D.

Myself and Jason Curry, an investigator with FFSL, met with representatives from SITLA on 7/19

at the location of the fire origin. We discussed the logging activity, pile burning and fire origin.

I requested a time-line of timber harvesting activities within the area which was provided and


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is attached as Exhibit F. The representatives from SITLA were Rick Wilcox, Kim Christy, Adam

Robison and Ron Barton. Robison is the forester who administered the timber sale. Robison

confirmed that the slash pile at the origin of the fire was burned on December 2, 2010. The

time-line however indicates that slash piles were burned in Units 1 & 4 on January 11 th & 12th

of 2012. The slash pile where the fire started is in Unit 1. Given the low precipitation during

the winter and spring of 2012 it would not be impossible for a fire to re-ignite in a large slash

pile with sizeable portions of trees and dirt mixed in. As mentioned above, a slash pile onAvantiquin Ridge that was burned in the fall of 2011 did re-ignite in the spring of 2012.

In order to clarify the time-line when slash piles were burned in Unit 1(the unit where the fire

started), I once again met SITLA staff at the fire origin area on October 2nd. SITLA staff included

Rick Wilcox, Adam Robison and Cary Zilelinsky who assists Robison with forestry activities for

the agency. It was confirmed by SITLA staff at the meeting that the slash pile near the origin

area of the fire was burned on December 2nd, 2010 and that the pile was not re-ignited by SITLA

representatives in January of 2012 or any other time after December of 2010. See witness

statements from Adam Robison and Cary Zilelinsky in Exhibit D.

Mr. Jensen and Mr. Charlesworth from the youth camp also met us at the origin area of the fire

on 7/19 along with Duchesne County Fire Warden Nathan Robinson and Forest Service employee

Philip Kaclrgk who was the crew leader of the Kings Peak Fuels Module. Nathan and Phillip, along

with his crew, were among the first initial attack responders to the fire. Nathan showed us where

he saw the fire when he first arrived which was within the general area observed by Mr. Jensen

and Mr. Charlesworth. Phillip and his crew were assigned to work the south flank of the fire near

the slash pile. Phillip confirmed that he and his crew built the scratch-line around the west side

of the slash pile and that this area was actively burning when they arrived. He said that he did

not notice the main slash pile burning and did not see any fire south of the ridge where the slash

pile was located.

On 8/15 I met Jeff and Sam Fabrizio who are the owners of Knotty Wood Products and hold


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the current logging contract. I asked them if they burned any of the slash piles as part of their

contract and they said no that it was SITLAs responsibility to burn the piles, not theirs. I asked

them if they were aware of any slash piles being burned recently and they said no. I asked

them when they were last working in the area and they said that they hauled a couple of loads

of logs out the Friday before the fire. They said that the log deck that they were working off of

is located near a meadow above the fire origin. This would be Units 3 and 4 on the map in

Exhibit F. They stated that they had not worked in Unit 1 near the origin area of the fire sinceAugust of 2011. This is confirmed by the time-line provided by SITLA. They said that they had

part of a log deck burn in the fire and had also suffered a financial loss but they were able to

move their equipment into the meadow where it was safe from the fire. I asked the Fabrizios

if they knew anyone who may hold a grudge against them that could have started the fire and

they said that they did not know anyone who would start a fire out of anger towards them.

On 8/23 Jason Curry and I conducted a telephone interview with Glen Robinson. I had been

attempting to contact Mr. Robinson for several weeks and had left several messages on telephone

numbers that I had. Mr. Robinson and his wife Dixie did call me back and left voice messages

on my office phone on 6/14, 6/15 and 6/17. Mr. Robinson stated that they had been out of

town and didnt get my messages until he first called me on 6/14. We consequently arranged

for the telephone interview on 8/23. At the beginning of the interview Mr. Robinson expressed

concern about the firefighting effort and the loss of his cabin which burned in the fire. We told

him that our purpose was to investigate how the fire started, not how it was fought. Mr. Robinson

stated that the loggers had been working behind their cabin on state land (SITLA land). He said

that he was notified by the loggers and the Timberline Camp manager about the fire and that they

responded on the night of 6/24 and the fire was not near their cabin when they left about 01:30

on 6/25. He said that he received a call from the loggers again on Monday (6/25) and they

told him that his cabin was gone. He stated that the loggers told him that a slash fire could

hold-over for a long time.

Mr. Robinson told us that two weeks before the fire happened he and his daughter were at the


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slash pile where the fire started and that he stomped on the pile and loose ash flew up when

his shoe sunk in about 1.5 inches. This made him think that it could still have heat under it and

may have been burned recently. He said that there is a lot of dirt that is pushed up when the

slash piles are made and that he thought that the dirt would insulate the heat and allow it to stay

for a long time. He also stated that there was a tire lying on the previously burned part of the

slash pile that had not burned and he wondered why the tire had not burned or been removed

when the pile was burned. (Jason and I noticed the remains of a burned tire on our visit to thesite on 7/11 and commented that the steel in the tire had not rusted enough for the tire to have

burned very long ago). I think the tire that Mr. Robinson referred to was the same one that Jason

and I observed on 6/11. Photo 5 in Exhibit B snows the burnt steel-belting from the subject tire

located on the remains of the slash pile. I asked Mr. Robinson if he saw, felt or smelled any

smoke or heat on the mound of dirt within the pile when he and his daughter were there and

he said no.

I told Mr. Robinson about the statement from Mr. Jensen regarding the incident with the key

exchange and what his grandson has told Mr. Jensen about his father tending a fire and could

not leave to get the key. Mr. Robinson told me that his son, Brett, was probably referring to a

fire that they had been using in a fire pit near their cabin to cook some food. I asked Mr. Robinson

if he and his daughter would be willing to write a witness statement capturing what he had told

me about the tire and he said they would. I asked Mr. Robinson if he would have his son call

me so that I could talk with him about the information that I had received from Mr. Jensen. Jason

Curry dropped off witness statements at Mr. Robinsons office on 8/24.

Jason Curry went by Mr. Robinsons office on 8/30 to pick up the witness statements and Mr.

Robinson told him that he had changed his mind and would not write the statements. I called

Mr. Robinson at his office after Jason informed me of the situation; Jason was present during the

call. Mr. Robinson confirmed what Jason told me and said that it would not do any good because

the state would not do anything anyway and there was no proof that the fire started at the slash

pile. He then became very agitated and went back to the fire suppression issue when he thought


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that there was not adequate action taken when the fire was small enough to suppress. I told

Mr. Robinson that I wanted to determine how the fire started and if he wanted to pursue the

suppression issue I would be willing to work on that as well but he needed to document his

concerns. We eventually went back to the fire cause and the un-burned tire that he claims he

and his daughter observed two weeks before the fire.

Mr. Robinson eventually admitted that he did not want to write a statement because it could causeissues between him and SITLA because his water storage tank is located on SITLA land adjacent

to his cabin and he does not have a permit for the water tank. He did state that he has a permit

for the road that leads to his cabin which crosses SITLA land and that SITLA staff found out about

the water tank because they were logging on their land adjacent to his property.

Mr. Robinson still feels that the slash pile was burned more recently than December of 2010,

as reported by SITLA, because of the loose ash. He felt that if the fire was burned in 2010

with all of the precipitation and snow that came that year that the loose ash would have been

compressed and would not fly up when he stepped in it.

I asked Mr. Robinson if he would have his son Brett call me and he said that he would not. I told

him that I needed to ask Brett where the fire was that he was attending when Bretts son went

to the youth camp to get the key from Mr. Jensen. Mr. Robinson stated once again that his son

was cooking tin-foil dinners at the cabin and that was the fire that he was attending. I have not

been able to talk with Brett Robinson.

CONCLUSION:

Based upon statements from individuals who initially responded to the fire, including firefighters

and Camp Timberline staff as well as SITLA staff and loggers along with burn patterns and

indicators, the origin of the Church Camp Fire was determined. The fire started in an area on


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the west side of a slash pile that, according to SITLA, was burned on December 2 nd 2010. The

presence of loose/fluffy ash when Mr. Robinson and his daughter were at the slash pile two weeks

before the fire and observed the un-burned tire and when Jason Curry and I visited the fire on

7/11 appears to indicate that the fire could have been burned more recently but there is no other

evidence to substantiate that. The fire moved from the origin area to a clump of trees adjacent

to the origin area and spotted across a logging road to another clump of trees. The spotting from

the tree clumps also likely sent burning embers into the drainage below. A combination ofprevailing winds, low humidity, high temperatures and low fuel moisture allowed the fire to move

northward and increase in intensity. If the slash pile in the origin area was burned in December

of 2010 as reported by Adam Robison of SITLA it would be highly unlikely that residual heat

was held for that long within the pile sufficient to ignite the area on the west side of the pile where

the fire appears to have started. If the pile was burned in January of 2012 it is very possible

that there was enough residual heat in the pile to re-ignite on 6/24/2012. Statements from the

SITLA staff who burned the slash piles indicate that the pile near the origin area was burned in

December, 2010 and was not re-ignited by SITLA staff in January of 2012 or any other time since

December of 2010.

There were no indicators or evidence of an ignition source that was detectable within the origin

area. Residual heat from the slash pile that was burned in December of 2010 is unlikely. There

was no evidence of recent heavy equipment working in the immediate area at the time the fire

started. There was no indication of campfires, children playing with matches, smoking, incendiary

devices, power lines or fireworks near the origin area. There had not been any recent lightning

activity in the area of the fire so lightning was not the cause. Based upon these facts and

observations it must be concluded that the only possible cause of the Church Camp Fire was

residual heat from the slash pile, which is highly unlikely given the facts and circumstances outlined

in this report or arson which cannot be substantiated.

WITNESSES:


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Mont Jensen Camp Timberline Manager (801) 420-5475

Rick Wilcox SITLA Staff, Program Manager (801) 538-5100

Adam RobisonSITLA Staff, Forester (435) 820-4989

Sam Fabrizio Knotty Wood Products (801) 828-5195

Glen RobinsonProperty Owner (801) 269-9703 Work

(801) 968-5273 Home

INVESTIGATING OFFICER:

Richard J. Buehler

Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands

1594 West North Temple, Suite 3520

PO Box 145703

Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-5703

(801) 538-5555

church camp fire report

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