State moves toward trial in Sockeye wildfire

State prosecutors are pushing for a criminal trial in the wake of last year’s devastating Sockeye wildfire near Willow. As the anniversary of the fire approaches on June 14, they have requested about a month’s court time for  proceedings, although attorneys for the two defendants have asked for more time to prepare their case. But neither side is ruling out that  there is still a chance for an out of court settlement.

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On a hot Friday afternoon in Palmer, a half dozen or so defendants await the judge’s arrival in state district court. Another six young men, all wearing yellow and chained together, are led in to the jury box in judge David Zwink’s courtroom for pre-trial proceedings in cases dealing with minor offenses.  But one case stands out.

” So I was thinking, my request was going to be a late summer trial,” Assistant District Attorney Eric Senta  told the judge.  Senta asked for court time — possibly up to a month this summer — for a jury trial. He tells the judge it will take about two weeks for the state to present it’s criminal case against Greg Imig and Amy DeWitt, the two defendants charged with negligence in starting the Sockeye wildfire.  But the case may not go to trial.  Kevin Fitzgerald, attorney for Imig, has asked the court for another pre-trial hearing on June 10. Fitzgerald told the judge the state has made an offer, and it could be September before the defense is ready to respond.

Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak,  says he’s reluctant to discuss negotiations, but there is still a chance that  the case could be settled out of court.

“I think our main concern is just that we want to.. if we resolve it, on the chance that we do resolve the case, it has to be a resolution that reflects the magnitude of this incident.”

Kalytiak says the defendants’ attorneys know what the state will accept.

“They probably know that we are looking at two facets of this case. A, that we would require an acknowledgement that this was a criminally negligent burning, .. a crime. And also, we would have to recognize the acceptance of responsibility. We would have to recognize that the conduct endangered other people in the community.”

Attorney Fitzgerald did not return calls in time for this story.

The case is unusual, because the criminal counts against the defendants are all misdemeanors. But the extent of the damage is enormous. The fire swept more than seven thousand acres and destroyed 55 homes and close to another 50 outbuildings. No human deaths or injuries resulted, but pets and sled dogs perished.

Borough officials tally $2.6 million  in losses due to the destroyed homes, with than an additional $990,000  in losses linked to totally or partially burned property. Fighting the fire cost the state $8 million.

DA Kalytiak says because the misdemeanor charges do not carry jail time, there is no bargaining chip on the table for reduced charges or sentencing. Restitution is the sticking point.

“You know, one of the impediments to the full agreement is the restitution component. There is a lot of money at stake here I don’t think we, the prosecutors, don’t have any good information as to how much money anybody really has, so at this point, I don’t see agreement to as to a monetary figure.”

“We haven’t closed the door on further discussions”, he said.  Kalytiak says there is no guarantee either that the case will be settled, or go to trial. Anything can happen before a trial, he says, adding that criminal charges need to be determined before civil proceedings can begin.