"They had the resources there. They probably could have had that fire out probably with in 24 hours, but they chose not to do that and that happens frequently," said Noel.
He says this must stop! "The 911 calls that I got into my office. People were terrified. They thought for sure their home was going to burn up," Noel said.
No homes have burned in Beaver County, but Noel says a few were lost in neighboring counties. The fire has caused havoc on his own County in other ways. "We had to shut down I-70. The smoke came into this community. It affected the Elderly people here," Noel says they complained of headaches and of trouble breathing.
A frustrated Sheriff is crying out for help, hoping The Forest Service will hear him and the people in his County.
Public Information Office for the Twitchell Fire Ken Malgren says Noel is misinformed because The Forest Service doesn't get a set amount of money to fight fires. Malgren says it gets what it needs.
Malgren says putting the Twitchell fire out in the first 24 hours was not practical because it started in a rugged area, which could have put firefighters in danger.
Malgren says the Twitchell Fire was 75 percent contained October 1.
