Two men indicted for starting Wallow Fire

[chumley]

The Arizona Republic
by JJ Hensley - Aug. 24, 2011 11:52 AM
Two men face federal charges of leaving an unattended campfire that sparked the massive Wallow Fire this summer, charring more than 538,000 acres in northeastern Arizona, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Cousins Caleb Joshua Malboeuf and David Wayne Malboeuf built a campfire in late May and left it unattended, which helped spark the blaze, authorities said.

Investigators determined that on May 29, the men were camping near the Bear Wallow Trailhead, about 2 miles from where the fire began.

An investigator issued an alert for personnel to be on the lookout for a 2001 Toyota registered to David Malboeuf, and the cousins were arrested the following morning by an Apache County Sheriff's deputy.

The Malboeufs face five counts related to the unattended campfire in the Apache National Forest.

The Wallow Fire was the largest wildfire in Arizona history.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... z1VyYImfI2

[RickVincent]

It's also interesting that the reporter had the ability to see more than one point of view, to see how it is a tragedy for the young men as well.

I noticed that point also. Part of me says its good that these guys are being held responsible. The other part of me says that better forest maintenance would have kept the problem from spreading so large. So, these guys have to pay for the price for poor government planning.

[azbackpackr]

It's also interesting that the reporter had the ability to see more than one point of view, to see how it is a tragedy for the young men as well.

I noticed that point also. Part of me says its good that these guys are being held responsible. The other part of me says that better forest maintenance would have kept the problem from spreading so large. So, these guys have to pay for the price for poor government planning.

I still find it amusing that, as far as I have seen, the newsies have never referred to these guys as "backpackers." Which is good, because if they had, we'd have to be classified with them, "those irresponsible backpackers who start big forest fires." It just seems so odd to me, though. This is a sport that has been popular for 60 or 70 years or longer, but the news media still can't define it? The two guys were always described as having been "hiking and camping" or "camping away from their vehicle."

I've even seen that lack of specificity here on HAZ. Sometime in the past year a noob to the site posted up about wanting to go "hiking and camping."

Maybe in a different area, with different demographics, such as California or the East Coast, the newsies would have used the correct term.