Firefighter takes plea in ’01 deaths
The supervisor of a firefighting crew that lost four members in a 2001 wildfire pleaded guilty in Spokane to misdemeanors under an agreement that dropped manslaughter and other felony charges against him.
The criminal case against Ellreese N. Daniels, then a crew boss for the U.S. Forest Service, is believed to be the first against a wilderness firefighter for deaths of comrades.
According to a Forest Service investigation of the so-called Thirtymile fire, fire bosses ignored signs of danger, underestimated the fire and allowed their only escape route to be cut off.
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