TUCSON - A Tucson man and his cousin have been charged with causing the Wallow Fire, largest wildfire in Arizona history.
David Wayne Malboeuf, 24, of Tucson, and Caleb Joshua Malboeuf, 26, of Benson, were charged in connection with the Wallow Fire, which started May 29, in the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.
The blaze scorched more than 538,000 acres in Eastern Arizona and part of Western New Mexico.
The wildfire, fueled by dry and windy conditions, destroyed 32 homes, four commercial buildings and 36 outbuildings before it was contained July 8.
It burned 840 square miles. Hundreds of homeowners were forced to evacuate, and the fire raged perilously close to more populated areas.
It cost over $79 million to fight, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
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Each man was charged with five counts of causing timber to burn; leaving a fire unattended and unextinguished; leaving a fire without completely extinguishing it; causing and failing to maintain control of a fire; and building a campfire without removing all flammable material from around the campfire adequate to prevent its escape.
A conviction for each of the offenses charged in the complaint carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.
The Malboeufs are scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Flagstaff Sept. 19..
A Forest Service investigation found the fire started when a campfire, left unattended by the Malboeufs in the Bear Wallow area, spread out of the fire ring and quickly spread in high winds.
Lucas Woolf, a special agent with the Forest Service, said in a sworn affidavit that the Malboeufs told him in interviews that they cooked breakfast over a campfire on May 29.
"They stated that they believed their campfire was out (before leaving the site for a hike) because David threw a candy wrapper in the fire just prior to their departure and it did not melt," Woolf said in the affidavit.
David Malboeuf "said that because of this assumption they did not take any action to extinguish their fire prior to their departure," the affidavit says.
The document says investigators examining the site of the campfire found camping items that the Malboeufs said they had left in their camp.
Also at the campsite were "two blue heeler dogs tied to trees," the affidavit says. "One dog was deceased and had a collar around its neck with David Malboeuf's contact information on it. The second dog was still alive and had a collar around its neck with Caleb Malboeuf's name and phone numbers on it."
According to the affidavit, the Malboeufs said they are "experienced campers and are very familiar with the Apache National Forest, frequenting the forest for years. Caleb and David both stated that they believe they took every precaution needed to prevent the escape of their campfire and that in no way did they intend to cause a forest fire."
A spokeswoman for the Forest Service declined to discuss details of the case.
"We wouldn't be able to provide specific information on the investigation of the Wallow Fire because it's an open case," said Forest Service media officer Cathie Schmidlin.
The after-effects of the Wallow Fire continue months after the blaze was extinguished. Heavily scorched terrain has been left unprotected from monsoon rains that have already caused flooding of some homes and buildings that survived the Wallow Fire.
Read more in Thursday's Arizona Daily Star
