PENDLETON, Ore. — Criminal charges have been dismissed against Ricky Snodgrass, the U.S. Forest Service employee who was arrested for reckless burning after overseeing a prescribed fire in Grant County in October 2022.

The case was thrown out of the U.S. District Court for Oregon on June 5 by Magistrate Judge Andrew D. Hallman, prompting a flurry of reactions from both sides of the issue.

Supremacy Clause cited

Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley, who made the arrest after the Starr 6 fire escaped containment in the Malheur National Forest near Bear Valley and charred about 20 acres of private land, expressed disappointment and called for change in the way the Forest Service manages prescribed burns.

“The United States Federal Government chose to use the ‘Supremacy Clause’ as their basis for the request of dismissal,” McKinley said in a statement. “My interpretation of the use of this clause is such that the state law was sufficient for the charges, and the only way to circumvent this was to appeal to the federal court.”

McKinley said he hopes that “more care will be taken” and “guidelines followed” with prescribed burns from now on.

“The hope out of all of this, is in the future … the United States Forest Service will heed their own motto: ‘Caring for the Land and Serving People,’” McKinley wrote.

In the days following Snodgrass’ arrest, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore vowed he would “not stand idly by” and would defend the agency’s employees. In a statement to agency employees issued June 7, Moore said accountability for unexpected outcomes during fire operations should rest with the agency, not with individual employees working within the scope of their duties.

‘Unnecessary suffering’

“Although the outcome is a positive one, his arrest should never have happened in the first place,” Moore said. “I have personally reached out to Ricky to congratulate him on this excellent news and let him know that we will continue to support him and his family as they continue to recover mentally and physically from their unnecessary suffering.”

Moore said the dismissal of the Snodgrass case should give additional confidence to wildland firefighters employed by the Forest Service.

“I am hopeful,” he said, “that the positive outcome of Ricky’s case will give many of you the confidence necessary to continue working in your much-needed roles. … The agency needs experienced firefighters more than ever. We are all in this together, and we can’t do it without you.”

Jacqueline Buchanan, Forest Service regional forester for the Pacific Northwest, said in an internal email to employees the dismissal was an overdue win.

“Throughout this process, (Snodgrass) has represented himself and the (U.S. Forest Service) well as he shouldered the weight of this as it worked through the legal process,” she said. “And he wasn’t alone, leadership at all levels of the organization supported him throughout.”

Buchanan’s email included a personal message from Snodgrass to his “Forest Service family” thanking them for their support.

”I hope the bonds we as an agency have made through the events surrounding Starr 6 will carry over into the future,” Snodgrass wrote. “As stressful as the last year and a half has been for me, it has been worth it to see how we as wildland firefighters and Forest Service employees can come together in an employee’s time of need. Thank you.”

Origin of case

The case was initially filed in Grant County Circuit Court after a grand jury indicted Snodgrass on a single misdemeanor charge of reckless burning in February of this year.

In March, the case was moved to federal court after Snodgrass’ attorneys filed a motion arguing that the U.S. District Court was the proper venue to try the case because Snodgrass is a federal employee who was acting in the course of his official duties when he was arrested.

The so-called “Supremacy Clause” of the U.S. Constitution, the attorneys claimed, gives federal officers immunity from state prosecution for activities performed in the course of duty if the officers’ conduct could be considered “necessary and proper.”

That argument prevailed in the end.

On June 5, Snodgrass’ attorneys filed a joint motion with Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter, the prosecutor in the case, to dismiss the case “with prejudice,” meaning it can’t be refiled.

Carpenter declined to comment on the outcome of the case, which is believed to be the first time a Forest Service firefighter has been arrested in the course of doing their job.