CANYON CITY — It’s been just over a year since Grant County made national headlines with the arrest of a Forest Service fire manager in the midst of supervising a prescribed burn, and the case remains under investigation.

But not for much longer, according to Sheriff Todd McKinley.

“It is wrapping up,” McKinley said. “I anticipate forwarding it to the district attorney for review … in the near future.”

On Oct. 19, 2022, Ricky Snodgrass was overseeing the 300-acre Starr 6 Burn in Bear Valley, about 17 miles south of John Day, when embers blew across the Izee-Paulina Highway and scorched about 20 acres of private land on the Holliday Ranch.

Amid escalating tensions between the property owners and Forest Service employees, McKinley arrested Snodgrass on suspicion of reckless burning and took him away in handcuffs while the fire was still burning.

Firefighters who remained on the scene brought the blaze on private land under control in about an hour and maintained control of the prescribed burn on national forest land.

Snodgrass was taken to the Grant County Jail, where he was booked and released. Since then, he has been waiting to learn whether or not he will face criminal charges in court.

What happens next will largely be up to Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter. Based on the results of the sheriff’s investigation, the DA will have several possible courses of action.

If the investigation does not find probable cause to believe a crime was committed, no charge will be filed, Carpenter said. If the evidence supports a misdemeanor charge, he could file the charge himself or take it to a grand jury to consider an indictment. If evidence points to a felony charge, he would be required to present the case to the grand jury.

McKinley also has been waiting to learn whether he might be charged with a crime for his role in the incident.

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. Others, including the head of a union representing more than 100,000 federal workers, suggested that the sheriff could be arrested on a felony charge of interfering with a federal employee in the course of their duties.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon confirmed that no federal charges have been filed against McKinley but declined to say whether the agency had investigated the incident or might be contemplating charges in the future, citing department policy.

McKinley said he’s seen no indication that charges might be filed against him.

“I haven’t even been talked to,” he said.

Meanwhile, the fall prescribed burning season has begun, setting the stage for another potential confrontation. But instead of sparking conflict, this year’s burn season appears to be starting off in a spirit of cooperation following a series of discussions between the leaders of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Malheur National Forest.

“We are getting notified” of upcoming prescribed burns, McKinley said. “Communication is 100% better at this point.”

“It is completely what we should be doing, both for our employees’ safety and public safety,” said Malheur National Forest Supervisor Ann Niesen.

“We couldn’t stay in that place,” she added. “We had to move on.”