The Hayman Fire was a forest fire that started on June 8, 2002, northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and southwest of Denver, Colorado, and was contained on June 28, 2002. For nearly two decades, it was the largest wildfire in the state's recorded history, burning over 138,114 acres.

Hundreds of firefighters participated in fighting the fire, which cost nearly $40 million. The fire burned 133 homes and forced the evacuation of 5,340 people.

Smoke could be seen and smelled across the state from Vail, northwest, to Burlington, east, and from Broomfield, north, to Walsenburg, south.

The fire was classified as contained on June 28, 2002. The cause was later determined to be arson.

When a reporter asked then-Governor Bill Owens about the view of the fires from above, he said, "It looks as if all of Colorado is burning today." Many western slope residents blamed Owens for driving away tourists with the press' truncated version of the quote ("All of Colorado is burning.") The Hayman fire was named for a mining ghost town near Tappan Gulch.

Impact

The fire resulted directly in the death of one civilian, and five firefighters were killed en route to the fire. Costs included $39.1 million in suppression costs and total private property losses valued at $40.4 million, and indirectly led to the death of five firefighters. Overall, 600 structures were burned in the fire including 133 homes, a commercial building, and 466 outbuildings. While the fire burned, record amounts of particulate matter were measured in the air.

As a result of the fire, flooding in the burn area increased. Consequently, many roads and bridges in the area were washed out. This included State Highway 67, the main highway that runs through the area. Other indirect destruction included sediment runoff into a reservoir that is used as a water source for Denver. The removal of this sediment cost $25 million. The fire quickly spread out of control and eventually torched over and burned across four different counties. A federal grand jury indicted Barton on four felony counts of arson.

In December 2002, Barton pleaded guilty to two of the charges: setting fire to federal forest land and lying to investigators and was given a six-year sentence in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch refused, however, to impose the $14 million restitution asked for by prosecutors, saying he would not sentence her to a "life of poverty". Additionally, the State of Colorado sentenced Barton to 12 years in prison to run concurrently with the 6-year federal sentence. The state sentence was overturned on appeal, however, on grounds that the presiding judge had "the appearance of prejudice" because smoke from the fire had motivated him to voluntarily leave his home for one night. In March 2008, Barton was re-sentenced by a different judge to 15 years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Several insurance companies filed a $7 million suit against the government in the fall of 2008, claiming that Barton was negligent in her duties. In November, Judge Wiley Daniel ruled that the government was not responsible for Barton's actions because she was not acting as a government worker.

In August 2018, Barton's sentence was extended another 15 years in the form of unsupervised probation (the unsupervised probation was ordered to save legal fees that would then be redirected towards restitution). Judge William Brian ordered that Barton continue to make payments toward the $14.5 million in restitution she owed as of the 2018 re-sentencing. The judge also ordered that Barton get a full-time job.

Images of fire damage

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image:Hayman Fire (1).jpg|Fire damage as seen looking towards Turkey Rock

image:Hayman Fire (2).jpg|Complete burn as seen from roadway

image:Hayman Fire (6).jpg|The damage to areas in the burn area varied greatly, as shown in this photo. The furthest hill burned completely, the middle hill was substantially burned, and the close hill relatively unburned.

image:Hayman Fire (4).jpg|In many areas, the fire burned so hot that it reduced ground cover to bare soil

</gallery>

See also

  • Rodeo-Chediski Fire of 2002, a concurrent large wildfire in Arizona
  • Healthy Forests Initiative, a federal law passed after the severe wildfires of 2002
  • Pine Gulch Fire, a wildfire in 2020 that became the largest in state history

References

  • The Hayman Fire Report
  • Wildland Firefighter Foundation list of fallen firefighters
  • Maps of the Hayman Fire , Park County Bulletin
  • The National Forest Foundation's Conservation and Restoration Plan for the Hayman Burn Area