Van Bateman -> Federal Correctional Institution Tucson

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Van Bateman -> Federal Correctional Institution Tucson

Why would a guy with no criminal record, mental health history or financial motive try to burn down the Coconino National Forest?

FLAGSTAFF — A former Coconino National Forest fire boss convicted of illegally setting wildfires is set to report to federal prison in Tucson Wednesday.
Van Bateman will be held in a medium-security prison, the Federal Correctional Institution Tucson, where he'll have a cell mate, a bunk bed and communal showers, prison officials said.
The 57-year-old will serve 24 months for setting two fires in 2004.
Bateman's case began in November 2005 after investigators said they had evidence placing him at the scene of at least one arson fire.
By pleading guilty, Bateman avoided a maximum 25-year sentence.
Bateman once headed one of the nation's top wildfire incident management teams, helping suppress the Rodeo-Chediski fire, Arizona's largest wildfire ever.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, he and his team also assisted in recovery operations at the World Trade Center in New York City.

Related Cal Fire News story: Why firefighter set forests ablaze remains unclear

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Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2007