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Forest service fines loggers up to $16K for Yellow Lake Fire

The forest service investigation included photos of the Yellow Lake Fire burn area such as the one above. The photo is not dated.
U.S. Forest Service
The forest service investigation included photos of the Yellow Lake Fire burn area such as the one above. The photo is not dated.

The investigation into the Uinta blaze also found it started a day earlier than initially thought.

The amount is the maximum fine allowed under the timber harvesting contract loggers held with the U.S. Forest Service, according to an agency investigative report obtained through a public records request by KPCW.

The Yellow Lake Fire consumed more than 33,000 acres in the Uinta Mountains. It was at one point the highest priority fire in the United States with 889 firefighters responding at its peak.

The forest service’s investigation did not include the total cost of fighting the fire, and it redacted the name of the logging company responsible.

The forest service says heat, friction and sparks from heavy machinery can ignite dry fuels, and it believes that's the best explanation for the Yellow Lake Fire.
U.S. Forest Service
The forest service says heat, friction and sparks from heavy machinery can ignite dry fuels, and it believes that's the best explanation for the Yellow Lake Fire.

Although initial reports said the fire ignited Sept. 28, 2024, the investigation says it began a day earlier.

In the report, investigators say they believe the blaze began accidentally, not as a result of negligence, Sept. 27. The first report of smoke came in about 3:30 p.m. the next day.

The forest service believes friction or sparks from heavy machinery on Duchesne Ridge, south of state Route 35 in Wasatch County, started the fire.

“Recent prints from a tracked machine and freshly cut tree stumps were located at the fire’s specific origin area,” the report reads.

Investigators found tread near the origin of the Yellow Lake Fire.
U.S. Forest Service
Investigators found tread near the origin of the Yellow Lake Fire.

Investigators do not believe anyone was present when the fire became visible Sept. 28. Loggers had come and gone that morning without seeing anything out of the ordinary.

According to the report, loggers had not been welding in the area for a couple of weeks and said they didn’t smoke or light a campfire.

Investigators briefed U.S. attorneys and forest service general counsel in October, and they say “criminal or civil proceedings are not anticipated at this time.”

The forest service referred the $16,000 fine to its claims office in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The investigation into the Yellow Lake Fire’s origin and cause started on the second day of firefighting, when it was still only a couple hundred acres in size.

No structures or lives were lost, and firefighters reported only minor injuries during the bulk of operations which took about one month.

Despite minimal property damage, insurance agents expect fire policies to be harder to come by, especially as fires devastate parts of Los Angeles.