Federal Esperanza Report, whatever happened to it?

[E-57 mom]

Is that final report ever comming out about the Esperanza fire? I thought it was April 1st. When it didn't happen, I figured they were waiting for the trial to be done. Sentencing and everything. But as far as I know, nothing. I have been sitting on eggs, with claws extended, to see if they were going to blame someone, besides the arsonest. I'm ready to pounce if they do. But when. Does anyone here know?
PS, Update your emergency cards, now.

[Mod-Red]

Article from the Press Enterprise

Federal investigation into the deadly 2006 Esperanza Fire drags on
By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Three years have passed since the Esperanza Fire raged through Riverside County, killing five U.S. Forest Service firefighters, but the federal government still has not finished its investigation into the blaze.

In the meantime, Beaumont mechanic Raymond Lee Oyler has been arrested, tried and sentenced to death for starting the fire in October 2006.

And two other federal investigations have long been completed.

But the U.S. Agriculture Department's Office of Inspector General is still compiling the results of its investigation, one that could lead to criminal charges for some firefighters who supervised the battle against the Esperanza Fire.

In March testimony before Congress, Inspector General Phyllis Fong said she expected to issue the report by the end of that month. Now, federal officials say they hope to finish their report by the end of November. But that deadline is not firm.

Investigators are actively working to finish their work, said Paul Feeney, spokesman for the inspector general's office.

But they have been slowed by competing responsibilities, as well as a decision made early in the process to hold back from some parts of their probe so as not to interfere with another investigation of the fire.

"Our overriding objective has been to conduct a good, independent investigation as opposed to focusing on any particular release date," Feeney said in a written statement.

'we are surprised'

The delays have caused anxiety and frustration for both the firefighters who fought the 43,000-acre blaze and the families of those killed.

"We're just waiting. We are surprised it has taken so long," said Vivian Najera, aunt of firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera, who was killed in the fire. "All of us have questioned when it is coming out, and we haven't got any answers. We are anxious to find out what it has to say."

The investigation is just the third of its kind and was required by a 2002 law mandating the office investigate deaths of federal firefighters killed in burnovers or entrapments.

The five killed in the Esperanza Fire were overrun by flames as they fought to save a lone, unoccupied home near Cabazon.

The two previous investigations led to charges against two fire commanders in the deaths of federal firefighters in Washington state and Idaho.

The law was created after the 2001 Thirtymile Fire in Washington state, which killed four firefighters. U.S. Forest Service supervisor Ellreese N. Daniels was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and lying to investigators.

After the 2003 Cramer Fire in Idaho, in which two firefighters died, the U.S. attorney's office filed charges against that fire's incident commander, Alan Hackett, who was found to have been negligent in his management of the blaze.

However, Cal Fire's jurisdiction over the Esperanza Fire is a key difference from the previous two cases and one that presented a "unique challenge" to federal investigators," Fong told members of the House Appropriation Committee during a March 11 briefing.

"The fire occurred on non-federal land, and (the Forest Service) was assisting in the suppression effort as part of a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, an entity for which OIG has no oversight jurisdiction," Fong said.

'TYPICAL,' 'FRUSTRATING'

That question of jurisdiction and the relationship between state and federal agencies battling the same blaze is certain to be addressed in the report. The firefighting community, both locally and nationally, has long awaited the investigation's findings, said Casey Judd, business manager for the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, which represents federal firefighters around the country.

"It's typical of the agency -- typically frustrating," Judd said. "I can't for the life of me see why the OIG can't get this out."

In the aftermath of the fire, the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and a joint state-federal task force launched separate investigations of the fire. Not wishing to obstruct the latter, OIG investigators delayed their interviews, Feeney said Thursday.

"This was done to ensure that OIG's inquiry did not interfere with theirs," he said. "That decision significantly pushed back the start of OIG's primary investigative work."

Both of the earlier inquiries found fire personnel took unnecessary risks.

Killed in the fire were Engine 57 Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild; Jason McKay, 27, of Apple Valley; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley; and Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto.

Oyler was convicted of five counts of murder for setting the blaze and was sentenced in June to die.

Relatives of the firefighters and others will gather Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the Cabazon Fire Station, 50382 Irene St. in Cabazon, to memorialize the third anniversary of the fire and the deaths of the five men.

Staff writer Richard K. De Atley contributed to this report.

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[E-57 mom]

Very soon now!!!

[Mod-Black]

Good news, Mom.

Thanks for watching that... we're all waiting with you.

[abercrombie]

from the Ab account:

Wildland firefighter legislation update:

Good evening to all:

These 48 hour trips to DC are hell but I wanted to update folks on our legislation.

I am confident the bill will be introduced before Dec. 18th, the day the House of Representatives is scheduled to adjourn for the holidays. Currently the primary author is working to secure a few bipartisan co-authors or "original co-sponsors" to be named on the bill at introduction. The FWFSA is helping with that.

Although the primary author is a Democrat, I was humbled to chat with a Republican Congressman this morning who indicated just how much he liked the bill. He is a strong supporter of the private sector but agreed that with complexities and costs of wildfires, a better balance of federal, state, local government and private entities must be achieved.

We are also working on the Senate side which is usually a tougher road to hoe. I was a bit shocked to spend nearly an hour and a half with a Western Senator this morning going through the bill. Usually you're lucky to get 20 minutes. I was encouraged that the Senator wanted to learn and understand the issues rather than just rely of staff for advice/guidance on the bill.

Tomorrow will be more meetings. I had requested time to meet with the Deputy Undersecretary of Ag but had not heard back from the office by this evening.

Additionally, Senate staff has informed me that the long-overdue Esperanza report should be released tomorrow. Tomorrow will also be the day I seek answers to the "$25 million question" of how the retention money in the Forest Service' R-5 was actually spent.

I also had the pleasure of having dinner with Tony Vergnetti of FEDS this evening. Although language in our bill seeks to address the current law dealing with FF liability, OIG reports etc., I can't underscore enough just how important it is for firefighters to secure PLI. As most know, the FWFSA endorses FEDS and FWFSA members receive a slight break on their premiums.

Once I return home I will put together a contact sheet for congressional representatives if you are inclined to communicate with your representative. We'll have a "cheat sheet" summarizing the bill to assist in your communications with your elected officials.

Needless to say this communication will probably be more effective once the bill is introduced and has a number assigned to it, but for those offices who we have worked very hard with and who are well-informed on the bill, we can start having constituents communicate with them even before the bill is introduced.

Some FFs have communicated with me privately suggesting we'd never see a bill and should work on the issues one at a time. However our approach to working on a comprehensive bill was validated by every office I was in today and we will have a bill introduced that will at the very least, serve to start the process of providing our Nation's federal wildland firefighters with the pay, benefits and working conditions they have deserved for far too long.

More to follow.

Casey Judd
Business Manager
FWFSA

PLI=Professional Liability Insurance
FEDS

[abercrombie]

Casey just called from DC.

He's not near his computer and asked me to relay to all that

the Esperanza Report should be out about noon Pacific Time.

He said that according to Harbour and Feinstein it does not contain any bombshells.