Wildfires Linked to Illegal Border Crossings, Says Study
Published November 22, 2011
A forest burns during a backburn operation to fight the Wallow Fire in Nutrioso, Ariz., Friday, June 10, 2011. A massive wildfire in eastern Arizona that has claimed more than 30 homes and forced nearly than 10,000 people to evacuate is likely to spread into New Mexico soon, threatening more towns and possibly endangering two major power lines that bring electricity from Arizona to West Texas.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) (AP
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – People crossing the southeastern Arizona dessert caused at least 30 wildfires in a five year period, found the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress.
A study by Congress’ investigative arm that shows investigators have linked 30 fires that erupted in a five-year period in Arizona’s border region to people who crossed into the United States illegally — a finding Sen. John McCain says backs up earlier statements he made about undocumented immigrants and wildfires.
SUMMARY
The GAO found that 30 of the probed wildfires were linked to illegal border crossers primarily in southeastern Arizona based on what was written in investigative reports. Fifteen were thought to be a signal for help, provide warmth or cook food.
McCain said earlier this year that fires are sometimes caused by illegal border crossers, but did not specify which fires he was referring to as blazes scorched the southern and eastern parts of the state. The statements quickly drew criticism from activists who jumped on him for “scapegoating.”
McCain and fellow Republicans framed the debate over his statements as a distraction.
“I hope this report is a lesson to the activists and public officials that would prefer to engage in partisan character attacks rather than focus the discussion on the vital need to secure our southern border,” McCain said Tuesday.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office report was released by McCain’s office Tuesday, and came at the request of the senator and fellow Republican Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jon Kyl of Arizona in July 2010.
It makes no mention of whether anyone was prosecuted for starting the fires and offers no hard evidence that immigrants were responsible.
The GAO gathered information for the study, which included fires within 100 miles of Arizona’s border with Mexico, from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, and interviewed federal, state and tribal officials along the state’s 370-mile border.
I hope this report is a lesson to the activists and public officials that would prefer to engage in partisan character attacks rather than focus the discussion on the vital need to secure our southern border.
Nearly 2,500 wildfires occurred in the Arizona border region from 2006 to 2010, but the GAO studied only those that were human-caused, burned more than an acre and those for which investigative reports were available. Of the 422 wildfires that topped one acre, federal fire investigators probed 77, or 18 percent.
The GAO report doesn’t cover wildfires in 2011 because investigative reports were not yet complete when the GAO was conducting its study.
The GAO found that 30 of the probed wildfires were linked to illegal border crossers primarily in southeastern Arizona based on what was written in investigative reports. Fifteen were thought to be a signal fires or those made to provide warmth and cook food. An investigative report on the 2009 Bear fire backed up that suspicion by noting the discovery of discarded bottles and food wrappers with Spanish language labels near a campfire. It also noted that the area is frequented by illegal border crossers and is adjacent to a heavily used smuggling trail, the GAO report said.
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