4 firefighters die in crash By Nancy Mitchell and Michael BeDan, News Staff Writer June 22, 2002

Four Oregon firefighters en route to help fight the Hayman Fire died Friday in a rollover accident on Interstate 70 just west of Rifle, and three others were critically injured.

Details of the 5:15 p.m. accident were still sketchy late Friday, but the Colorado State Patrol said four others -- all believed to be firefighters -- also were being treated for serious to minor injuries at hospitals in Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Rifle.

The firefighters were traveling east in a 15-passenger van and were part of a convoy of eight vehicles that left La Grande, Ore., to lend aid to the firefighting efforts in Colorado.

"This is like a freakout night," said Jenny O'Bryan of La Grande, whose husband, Joseph Woods, is the crew chief for the firefighters in the crash.

"Somebody dies on a fire. They are used to that. But not on the road in Colorado," she said.

Trooper Dan Moseman said the van's driver, Megan Helm, 21, of La Grande, became distracted by something inside the van and briefly lost control, veering off the left side of the interstate into the median. Fatigue was also being investigated as a possible factor, authorities said.

Helm then tried to correct the vehicle and swerved across two eastbound lanes of the interstate, rolling the van three times on the pavement and once more into the grass on the right side of the road.

Four occupants of the van were ejected, and the cleanup closed I-70 for three hours.

"The van had been on the road for an extended period of time, but had just stopped in Parachute," Madsen said.

The firefighters were employees of a private contractor known as Grayback Forestry, among the largest -- and considered the most elite -- of private firefighting agencies.

Authorities confirmed that one of the fatalities is Retha Shirley, 19, of Baker, Ore. The names of other three were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

They also provided an injury list: Patrick Shore, 25, La Grande, critical; Anthony Kyle, age unknown, LaG rande, minor injuries; Robert S. Heins, 20, Burley, Idaho, minor injuries; Brandon Fiala, 20, no condition, no hometown; Bartholomew Bailey, 20, Corvallis, Ore., critical; and Jason Staten, 20, Baker City, Ore., minor injuries.

Grayback Forestry provides contract emergency services, fuels management, wildfire suppression and training, helicopter charters and other miscellaneous forestry services. Grayback Forestry has been operating since 1979.

The firm has offices in La Grande, Grants Pass and John Day, Ore. Kurt Wiedenmann, district ranger for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, said contract firefighters such as Grayman Forestry consist of about 20 men and women who have some type of firefighting experience. They often travel in caravans to battle blazes in the northwestern United States.

It now has become common for the U.S. Forest Service to contract firefighting crews such as Grayman Forestry to help bolster Forest Service crews, Hot Shots and firefighters who are on the front lines.

"We use them for indirect line building and mopups, and a lot of cleanup stuff," Wiedenmann said. "It's pretty common to see, you know, a third or half of the crews at camps being contract firefighters."

If the driver had been blinded by smoke or a burning tree fell on the van then I say go after Barton. I think she should be held repsonsible for the death of the asthmatic in Woodland Park.

From this story in the Post it sounds as if the driver was distracted by someone in the car. You'd think that the feds would have flown all these people and their gear out here from Oregon. Sounds like they were driving straight through and only stopping for food and gas. Great idea to have everybody drive that distance nonstop only to arrive fatigued and fight a fire.

Denver Post

Crash kills 4 firefighters
Van on way to Hayman blaze rolls on I-70; 7 hurt
By Barbara Hernandez
Diedtra Henderson
J. Sebastian Sinisi and David Frey
The Denver Post

Saturday, June 22, 2002 - PARACHUTE - Four Oregon firefighters heading to the largest blaze in Colorado history died and another seven were injured Friday evening when their 15-passenger van rolled four times near Parachute.

"Over and over we went, and I just closed my eyes," said Robert Heins, who suffered minor injuries and was taken to a Glenwood Springs hospital.

The crew - from a private company that contracts with the federal government to build fire lines - was headed to the 2-week-old Hayman fire, a 137,000-acre inferno southwest of Denver that is 60 percent contained.

The van, carrying 11 members of the Grayback No. 80 Forestry Crew from La Grande, Ore., was part of a convoy of eight vans driving east on Interstate 70.

No wildland firefighters have died in Colorado since 14 were killed on Storm King Mountain in 1994, and many of those were from an elite Hotshot crew from Prineville, Ore.

It appears the crew left La Grande late Thursday, driving through the night and all day Friday before stopping for food in Parachute just before the 5:15 p.m. accident.

Witnesses say the van veered from the left side of the highway to the median. The 21-year-old driver overcorrected, sending the van across two eastbound lanes before rolling four times, said Rob Marone, Colorado State Patrol spokesman.

Four victims were hurled from the van and died from their injuries. One was identified as Retha Shirley, 19, of Baker, Ore. The other three were not identified.

Three of the wounded were airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction. Anthony Kyle, age unknown, of La Grande, was in serious condition; Brandon Fiala, 20, city unknown, was critical; and Bartholomew Bailey, 20, of Corvalis, Ore., also was critical.

The remaining four victims were at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs early Saturday. They were identified as van driver Megan Helm of La Grande, with moderate injuries; Heins, 20, of Burley, Idaho, with minor injuries; Patrick Shore, 25, of La Grande, with critical injuries; and Jason Staten, 20, of Baker City, with minor injuries.

Helm may face reckless-driving charges, the State Patrol said. She did not fall asleep at the wheel and was driving within the 75-mph speed limit, authorities said.

There is no indication that alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash. The road was clear and dry.

"It appears at this time it was a simple, momentary distraction by the driver," Trooper Don Moseman said. "In other words, somebody talked to the driver and (she) just looked away from the road for a second, and when (she) looked back their left tires were off."

"At interstate speeds, the slightest correction to the wheel - especially SUVs and vans - their center of gravity is a lot higher than a passenger car," Moseman said.

State troopers said they found 100 distraught firefighters at the scene when they arrived.

Grayback crew chief Joseph Woods called his wife back in Oregon after the accident, she said late Friday. His van was farther back in the caravan.

"He watched the whole thing," Jennie O'Bryan said. "He was basically in tears. He wasn't even asking about the kids. He's freaked out tonight. It's been a very horrible night."

"He said he had been in a horrible wreck. He said, "I'm OK. Other people are not OK,' " O'Bryan said.

"My husband's three best friends died without fighting a fire. It makes me so mad."

Word of the first deaths of wildland firefighters in Colorado in eight years hadn't yet filtered through the ranks of firefighters battling the Hayman blaze.

"Obviously, everyone feels badly when something like this happens," said fire information officer George Corley. "We're like a family."

Prosecutors say the Hayman fire was intentionally set by U.S. Forest Service employee Terry Lynn Barton during the worst fire season on record. Already, more than 200 homes and 220,000 acres have been scorched since April.

Three firefighters died recently in California when their plane crashed on the way to a blaze.

"We've had other distractions on this job. This one won't deter us any more than the last one did," Corley said. "We will continue to stay focused and try to keep our safety record intact on this project. But we all feel very badly."

The other seven vans in the convoy continued on to the Hayman fire. Corley said uninjured firefighters would enter "critical shock debriefing."

Correspondent Lori Cumpston contributed to this report.

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