Scouts fire case is headed to trial

A federal judge refused Monday to hold the Boy Scouts of America's Great Salt Lake Council liable for a 2002 wildfire that consumed more than 14,000 acres and cost more than $12 million to suppress and rehabilitate. But she said the Scouts could face a "legal duty" to not start fires at the time. Because of the judge's decision Monday, the case will instead head to a jury for trial.

The ruling provides a partial victory for both sides in a case where the U.S. government is seeking to recoup the $12 million price tag on a fire they say an investigation concludes was started by a group of Scouts near Camp Tomahawk in the Uintas in June 2002.

During a hearing earlier this month, attorneys for the U.S. government asked U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell to find the Scouts legally liable for the "East Fork Fire," which consumed 14,208 acres of federal, state and private lands. The government points to a U.S. Forest Service fire investigation which pinpointed the origin of the fire to an area where a group of some 17 Scouts, ages 12 through 14, were camping for their survival merit badges. The government said its investigation showed the group was supervised by two 15-year-old camp counselors, with no adults. At the time, the Forest Service had banned all fires due to dry conditions. However, depositions of Scouts showed they lit several fires, but they insisted they thought they had put the fires out.

Attorneys for the Scouts said it was not conclusive that the group sparked the fire and felt that was a decision for a jury to decide.

In her ruling Monday, Campbell said there were "genuine issues of material fact" as to the cause of the fire, enough to generate doubt as to who is liable. However, Campbell did rule that the Scouts did have a "legal duty as a matter of law" regarding the setting of fires.

E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com