Culprit in fire testifies in lawsuit
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The former U.S. Forest Service employee who started the worst wildfire in state history testified that she burned the letter blamed for igniting the blaze as a “symbolic gesture” of her failing marriage.
Terry Lynn Barton testified in a lawsuit brought by insurance companies that want the federal government to cover about $7 million they paid out in claims from the 2002 Hayman fire.
The blaze burned for 17 days, blackening 138,000 acres, destroying 133 homes and forcing more than 8,000 people to evacuate.
Barton pleaded guilty to state and federal arson charges and served six years in prison.
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