Dawes County Sheriff Karl Dailey says three men between the ages of 18 and 45 have been cited on federal charges for unintentionally causing this week’s Spotted Tail Fire…which burned 83-acres of U-S Forest Service land about 5 miles south of Chadron.
Dailey, who expects federal officials to make an official announcement by the end of the week, says the trio violated restrictions on lands in the Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands imposed this summer because of the extreme fire danger.
Dailey says the initial leads in the case came from members of the public, and that although Dawes County has a contract to law enforcement service on federal lands, it was the Forest Service that took the lead role in the case.
As a result, Dailey doesn’t expect any state charges but emphasizes that Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug would make that decision.
The three men face the possibility of both fines and restitution for the costs of fighting the fire, which began Saturday on land burned in the massive 2006 blaze that was also dubbed the Spotted Tail Fire.
Dailey thinks the Spotted Tail Fire and the charges facing the 3 men underscore why the Forest Service imposes fire restrictions and why it’s important for the public to obey those rules.
He says fire officials told him that if it wasn’t for an early report of the fire, a fast and strong response by firefighters, and the use of single-engine air tankers the fire fire would spread rapidly and threatened Chadron.
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