The unprecedented prosecution of a Forest Service burn boss on a reckless burning charge is drawing a lot of attention to Grant County, much of it negative.

Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley made national headlines in October 2022 when he arrested Ricky Snodgrass in Bear Valley after the prescribed burn he was supervising on the Malheur National Forest spread onto private ranchland, hauling him away in handcuffs while the fire was still burning. It is believed to be the first time a federal firefighter has ever been arrested in the course of performing their duties.

The remaining crew members on the scene were able to douse the flames, but not until after 20 acres of grass and timber belonging to the Holliday family had been scorched by the blaze.

By all accounts, tempers were flaring along with the flames that day, and the sheriff may have felt he was defusing a tense situation by taking Snodgrass into custody. In Grant County, as in many parts of the rural West, there is no shortage of resentment toward the federal government, which lords over vast tracts of public land with restrictive regulations (and, at the same time, takes it off local tax rolls).

Many local residents blame the Forest Service for mishandling the Canyon Creek Complex, the devastating 2015 wildfire that burned 110,000 acres of public and private land, destroyed 43 homes and scores of outbuildings, and came within shouting distance of Canyon City before it was finally stopped. Driving south on Highway 395 to Bear Valley, the miles of standing snags are a grim reminder of the destructive power of a runaway wildfire. And, in a region that has suffered economically from the decline of logging on federal land, many people also see them as a stark sign of a misguided federal forestry policy that values the environment at the expense of jobs and may actually be adding to the risk of another big fire.

So it’s hardly surprising that a lot of people around here stood up and cheered when Snodgrass was arrested. Locally, the move was widely seen as sending a message to federal land managers that they need to watch their step, especially when it comes to burning near private lands.

What was surprising, in our view, was that the investigation was not quietly dropped after that message was sent. Instead, more than a year later, it was presented to the grand jury, which returned an indictment against Snodgrass on a Class A misdemeanor.

That sends another message altogether. It tells federal fire managers everywhere that they, too, could be arrested for simply doing their jobs. Let’s remember that the purpose of prescribed burns is to reduce the danger of a catastrophic wildfire like the Canyon Creek Complex (and that landowners like the Hollidays can seek compensation in civil court when a prescribed burn damages their property). Do we really want the Forest Service and other federal agencies to dial back their fire prevention efforts?

As the case moves toward trial, the eyes of the nation will be turning toward Grant County. What kind of message will we send?