Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.

On July 9, 2016, a fire started in the Cold Springs area of Nederland as a result of two men not having sufficiently extinguished their campfire. What ensued was the loss of 8 homes, several more structures, over 500 acres of land and property, and beloved pets. The two men, Jimmy Suggs and Zachary Kuykendall, pleaded guilty to 4th degree Felony Arson and were both sentenced to 4 years of probation and 2 years of work release, to run concurrently. In addition, they were ordered to pay $1,364,000 in restitution, for which they are jointly responsible.

Suggs’ and Kuykendall’s sentences included an assessment for restorative justice by 20th Judicial District Probation Department. Catherine Childs, their Director of the Restorative Justice Services, convened a number of RJ facilitators, victims’ advocates, and other representatives from partner restorative justice service providers in the county, to discuss how the RJ process could be structured to accommodate such a large number of survivors and impacted community members. It was determined that each survivor household interested in participating would be assigned a pair of facilitators. Andrea Bianchi, TEENS, Inc.’s Restorative Practices Director, would work with Catherine to co-facilitate the process on a macro level.

Over the following months, Childs worked to contact the survivors who lost homes, other structures, or property to the fire in order to describe the restorative justice process, offer the opportunity to participate, and listen to their stories of what happened, what harms were caused, and any ideas they may have on repair of harm by Suggs and Kuykendall. Interested survivor households were then paired with experienced RJ facilitators for a pre-conferencing process, to discuss harms and needs. Bianchi met with community officials and those who worked closely with relief efforts to discuss best approaches and possible avenues for community wide healing as well.

Concurrently, Childs and Bianchi facilitated meetings between Kuykendall and Suggs and the Probation office’s regular Community Circle Panel, which is composed of members of the Boulder County community who are trained volunteers and provide general feedback on community harm for cases in which Restorative Justice is deemed suitable. Kuykendall and Suggs voluntarily attended every month. Early on in these initial meetings, both men wrote letters of apology, excerpts of which are printed here.

Ultimately, the decision was made to forgo proceeding with a group conference to include Suggs and Kuykendall and interested survivor household members, as both offenders demonstrated pronounced inconsistency regarding accountability over the course of the monthly meetings, increasing a higher likelihood of survivor re-victimization than the facilitators could risk. Instead, Childs and Bianchi facilitated a conference that included the Nederland Fire Department Chief Rick Dirr, the Boulder County Disaster Recovery Manager Garry Sanfacon, the two offenders, and two of the Panel community members. Dirr and Sanfacon chose to meet with the two offenders primarily in their official capacities to represent the harm caused to the Nederland community. However, they were also able to share how the fire had personally impacted them.

Because of the unusual circumstances of this process, the circle participants agreed to modify the standard confidentiality agreements so that Dirr and Sanfacon could report back to the community about what they heard and experienced in the community group conference. During the agreement phase of the conference, it was determined that they would be interviewed by the Mountain Ear for an article to include their respective impressions, as well as an opportunity to read excerpts from the apology letters and from impact statements that had been provided by a survivor household, for those who wished.

On December 12, 2018, the offenders told their stories, including general details of their trip to Colorado, their role in starting the fire and the aftermath. Both spoke to their understanding of the harm they caused and the impacts of their actions. The men were in a transient mode, but not transients. They were on an adventure and ran out of gas. In Alabama, fires are self-extinguishing. They built the fire here to cook some Ramen noodles. Even though they called themselves outdoorsmen, they said maybe they didn’t know that much after all, considering the outcome of their fire on that fateful day. Dirr and Sanfacon were able to hear them speak about their “negligence” and “arrogance” regarding their fire safety knowledge.

After Suggs and Kuykendall spoke, it became their turn to listen. Chief Dirr shared the frustration of fanning an overheated cell phone while on the fire line to evacuate his family, whom he knew were in the direct line of the fire. The anguish of his fellow firefighter pleading for someone to get to his house to let his dogs out. He described the emotional roller coaster of finally knowing his family had evacuated shortly followed by the devastation of driving his friend and colleague down the road to find the firefighter’s home destroyed, pets missing. He emphasized there are many similar stories, the emotional impact a ripple effect, affecting lives to an unforeseeable level.

Dirr stated that he felt an enormous responsibility to accurately portray the impact of the fire on people’s lives and property. “I felt the members of the community, my neighbors and friends, had suffered and would continue to suffer a loss whose entirety is difficult to comprehend. Not just the loss of houses, pets and possessions, but also hopes, dreams, and sense of achievements. A neighborhood would bear the burn scar for generations, memories of raising a family near an idyllic place such as ‘Pride Rock’ and dreams of properties once destined as a future home site or to be passed on to family members now forever altered.”

The impact on Suggs and Kuykendall was palpable, their body language a strong indicator of the depth of emotions that they felt.

Sanfacon next read a list, names omitted, of all the property lost to the fire. He included stories he knows of community members jumping through the hoops of insurance companies, of families who were still not in homes a year and a half later, and a community member who lost his future financial security because he would no longer be able to sell his land that had once been covered with meadows and mature trees, and now was a blackened wasteland. Sanfacon also shared his personal story of being evacuated, as well as the things he’s learned through his work.

After hearing these impacts, Kuykendall asked to read the letter he wrote back in February of 2017. Kuykendall read, “I feel that I cannot even begin to describe how sorry I am for the damage I have caused to this beautiful community by my ignorance and negligence. I am truly sorry for the trauma and loss my actions have caused to the families that have lost homes, memories, and livelihood.” Kuykendall was emotional, shaking and tearful.

Suggs followed suite. He read from his letter, also written almost a year prior. He read that it was difficult writing the letter knowing that whatever he did would never correct or “recompense” fully for his “horrible actions,” whether it was an accident or not. “What truly matters is that it was done, and I am the cause of it being done. I am fully ready to take responsibility. Not just for me and the system, but I think about the kids who could have been hurt in this fire. They need to know that a crime so extreme should not go unpunished regardless of intent.” He said he knew he would be paying for a long time, that he can’t fathom the losses he’s caused, acknowledging the people who have suffered from his actions. Suggs was sad, introspective.

Next, participants of the circle took turns reading aloud through several impact statements submitted by a survival household. The statements conveyed their pain and compassion, as well as deep appreciation for all those who dedicated their time and care to assist and support direct survivors and the Nederland community at large. After detailing the beautiful journey of adopting their beloved dog Geno, they describe the process of moving through his loss, and the lessons they hope can be gleaned from hardship. “Our dog is lost. But... his love is not. Keep searching, spend the same time, give the same effort, have the same care, the same hope, and keep searching. Search for a way to love yourself and to love your community: your family, your friends, your coworkers, your acquaintances, your neighbors. Search for a way to love all those you meet, even perfect strangers. Learn their stories the way you learned Geno’s. Keep searching until you find a way to love the way Geno loved, with your whole heart.”

When asked about his opinion of the restorative justice process, Dirr stated “I am grateful, it allowed me to express the variety of impacts our community had suffered and in doing so it allowed closure on these various emotions and the need to keep track of harms done. The RJ process has enabled me to focus on the future. My goal for this article was to let the community know exactly this and hopefully enable some vicarious healing. While I found it very important to let the fire starters know what they had done wrong, it is equally important for me to let our community know how incredibly proud of them I am. During the fire, our community stood tall and gave the best that humanity has to give.”

Sanfacon agreed, stating that gathering the pieces, the words, and the feelings of the offenders, as well as the survivors helped him see them in a three-dimensional way. “This is about moving forward, giving the survivors a chance to move forward.” Sanfacon also commented that “although these guys were ignorant, irresponsible knuckleheads from the South, they are now trying to take meaning from this. They are truly remorseful.”

Dear Family, Friends and Community,

You can burn a home to ash, but not the love in it. You can suffer heartbreaking sorrow, and then awaken to a new day. You can crush, smother, and trample hope, yet hope will endure. The human spirit is indomitable and with courage will always find its way.

Since the onset of the Cold Springs Fire, we have experienced and witnessed a tremendous outpouring of love and support, hard work and courage, and hope for a new beginning.

For us, family and friends flew in from across the United States on a moment’s notice, to provide support, love and helping hands to guide us through this tragedy. Coworkers and team mates, associates and colleagues, donated time, resources and money to help us face the challenge of renewing our lives. Perfect strangers have joined with us and become friends and continue to search for our dog (now arguably Nederland’s dog) Geno. Firefighters across the country have treated us like brother and sister, a true family. The generosity of all on our Go Fund Me site has been simply astounding. Words are not thanks enough.

For our community, hot shot crews and wildland firefighters from across the nation flew in, dug in, dropped slurry, bulldozed, created fire line, and bravely attempted to protect our neighbors from the ravages of wildfire. These men and women put their lives on the line, every fire and this fire. Words are not thanks enough.

Within our town, friends and strangers alike rallied to provide support for those among us who, like us, lost their homes. People rescued friends, families, dogs, cats, horses and livestock, at peril to themselves, when the evacuations were ordered. People donated meals and put up countless signs thanking and supporting the firefighting effort and our volunteers. People gathered at the high school and shared resources and information. Words are not thanks enough.

For our town, volunteer organizations from across the state and country responded to assist with property cleanup and restoration, providing hundreds of hours of back breaking labor. These people spent weeks covered with the soot and ash, with the remains of the hard work and dreams of others, because they cared enough to want to help. They continue to hold hands, give hugs, share prayers, and provide encouragement. Words are not thanks enough.

Thanks enough would be sharing this kindness, generosity, and love with others; thanks enough would be living with an attitude of gratitude; thanks enough would be paying it forward at every opportunity. We hope to begin each day anew thanking you enough.

Bretlyn and Charlie Schmitmann

Should you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding the Restorative Justice journey described here, please feel free to contact either Andrea Bianchi at andrea@teensinc.org or Catherine Childs at catherine.childs@judicial.state.co.us