Senator criticizes Forest Service officials' judgment that led to Pautre Fire

Though U.S. Forest Service announced Sunday that the Pautre Fire in Perkins County was determined to have been completely contained, North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp spoke out Monday on behalf of ranchers who lost thousands of acres of grazing land. The Fire, escaped containment south of Hettinger and Lemmon after starting April 3 as a 130-acre prescribed burn by the Forest Service in the Grand River National Grasslands and scorched nearly 11,000 acres over 16 square miles. The area received several inches of snow on Monday. Heitkamp, a Democrat, released a statement regarding the fire on Monday, sending her condolences to ranchers and landowners while criticizing the judgment used by the Forest Service. “This fire was avoidable and I am disappointed with the lack of judgment used by the U.S. Forest Service to proceed with the controlled burn given the high winds and dry conditions at the time,” Heitkamp said. The Forest Service has said it intends to compensate landowners for damages to fences, hay bales and anything else hurt by the fire...more

Also see Forest Service apologizes for Dakotas fire.