The Missoulian State Bureau requested and received three pages of internal Forest Service reports on what happened at the Billings airport on the morning of July 23 when Burns complained about how the Bundy Railroad fire was fought.
Tom Roach, a division group supervisor on the Bundy Railroad Fire, wrote that he was walking on the airport tarmac past Burns, who “was staring at the NRIMT (Northern Rockies Incident Management Team) logo on my shirt.”
The Forest Service report included criticisms that Burns made to Paula Rosenthal, a public information officer from the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, about how the Bundy Railroad fire was fought. Rosenthal was called to the airport by Forest Service officials to talk to Burns after he criticized some members of the Augusta, Va., Hotshots. Her separate state report was made public last Thursday.
Burns, she wrote, had these comments: “This command/control doesn't work.” “Managing these fires from Boise does not work.” “Ranchers complaining firefighters/engines driving right by while their land is burning.”
The Forest Service documents also included a firsthand account of the airport incident by Gabe Templeton, one of the Augusta Hotshots, describing what happened to him and fellow team members Jeff Cleek and Jude Waerig.
It said the three men were sitting in the Billings airport waiting for their flight when Burns approached them with an outstretched hand and asked if they were firefighters.
“I shook his hand and replied yes,” Templeton wrote. “He shook my hand, introduced himself and then replied, ‘What a piss poor job' we were doing. I replied, ‘Have a nice day.' The senator mentioned that we were ‘wasting a lot of money and creating a cottage industry.' He also told us that we needed to listen more to the ranchers. I replied that ‘we are pretty low on the totem pole.' Then he walked off.”
In response, Burns' spokesman James Pendleton said Monday: “This indicates the level of response with the situation.”
Pendleton noted that Burns issued an apology Thursday night, saying he shouldn't have criticized the firefighters, who do “the hard, tough job of battling one of Mother Nature's toughest beasts.” The senator said he has nothing but admiration for firefighters.
“He freely admits he took out his frustration on the wrong people,” Pendleton said, adding that Burns was upset over preparation and coordination of firefighting efforts. “There's definitely some problems that need to be addressed. He's frustrated with Boise, and he let it go.”
Dan Jiron, a Forest Service spokesman in Washington, said, “Senator Burns has apologized about this. As far as we're concerned, that's the end of the story.”
He said firefighters have done a great job in the field, with a 99 percent success rate with their initial attack on wildfires.
“The reason why we have had that success is we have been properly funded and equipped to do our jobs, and Senator Burns is the chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee,” Jiron said. “He's always been supporting funding and the right equipment.”
He said the firefighting organization is unique in its ability to receive evaluations after each fire and to adapt, if necessary.
Jiron also criticized press coverage of the incident, saying, “It seems like the story went on over the weekend after the apology.” Such coverage attacks the credibility of journalists and may be one reason they rate low in polls measuring public trust, the Forest Service spokesman said.
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