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John Hollenhorst ReportingA huge forest fire continues to burn near the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the controversy seems to be getting hotter.
The former top fire official in the area says the blaze got out of control because of "gross incompetence and stupidity".
Mark Baron, Retired Fire Management Officer: "This is another area where we used to cut Christmas trees."
Mark Baron watched mile after mile of scorched earth go by. Stumps and snags where there used be a lush forest.
Mark Baron: "The flames were probably 150 feet high when it passed through this area."
Until he retired, Baron was fire management officer for this part of the Kaibab National Forest. Now much of it is ashes, and he's furious at his former agency.
Mark Barron: "In the majority of the burn area, it's just a disaster."
Forest Service officials strongly defend their decisions. They allowed a lightning fire to burn for two weeks. Then hot, windy conditions blew it up and out of control.
Brian Steinhardt, Acting Fire Management Officer: "You know, it was a little disconcerting to see a column of that size and magnitude going. But when you go out and see what it did out there, it did good things."
The philosophy is to let fire play its natural role, burning out excess vegetation and restoring forest health.
Brian Steinhardt: "I just went through the burn area and I've seen deer, chipmunks, butterflies all over the place. The deer rolling in the ash, licking it, getting nutrients out of it. Nothing but beneficial that I've seen."
Baron says that's baloney put out to cover a drastic eror. He says the let-it-burn strategy in summertime conditions opened the door to a fire so hot it sterilized the soil and left little for wildlife to eat.
Mark Baron: "No, I see absolutely no long-term gain whatsoever."
Regardless of whether it's healthy for the forest or not, this is definitely not what the forest service had in mind. And Baron says he thinks somebody ought to be held accountable.
So far the blaze has burned nearly 100 square miles. Although tourists have been banned from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the fire is still about 20 miles from the canyon itself.
