A San Miguel County hunting outfitter will pay the U.S. Forest Service $500,000 to resolve allegations it was liable for a 2019 wildfire east of Ridgway.

The settlement agreement, announced last week and signed last month by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Placerville-based Jackson Outfitters owner Roy Jackson, represents a compromise in the investigation and civil action stemming from the Cow Creek Fire. The fire burned about 850 acres near Courthouse Mountain and cost more than $2.2 million to suppress.

The agreement says the decision to settle the case is neither an admission of liability by Jackson Outfitters nor a concession by federal authorities that their claims aren’t well-founded.

Federal officials concluded in 2022 that the Cow Creek Fire was caused by an improvised and improperly installed spark arrestor at a hunting camp rented by four hunters from Wisconsin and run by Cow Creek Outfitters, an affiliate of Jackson Outfitters. Spark arrestors are used to keep embers, ash and sparks from exiting a chimney or stovepipe. Authorities allege embers and other ignited material escaped the stovepipe and ignited dry vegetation on the ground.

Two of the hunters told federal investigators they folded and rolled chicken wire and placed it inside a stovepipe, which was attached to a wood burning stove inside a wall tent at the camp. Jackson told the Plaindealer in a 2022 interview the hunters incorrectly installed the spark arrestor by shoving the mesh inside the stovepipe instead of placing it on top of the stovepipe.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Jackson Outfitters breached its duty by failing to ensure its activities didn’t trigger a wildfire — responsibilities spelled out in a special-use permit under which Jackson Outfitters runs its business in the Uncompahgre National Forest.

“Outfitters must ensure that the equipment they use in National Forests is safe and protects public lands for all of us,” Acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell said in a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado. “We appreciate that this resolution was cooperative and reimburses the United States for costs incurred in fighting the fire.”

Jackson, though, disputes the findings of the Forest Service and suggested his company settled the case primarily to preserve its federal permit.

In a statement released to the Plaindealer last week, Jackson Outfitters said the hunters spotted the fire roughly 300 years uphill from their campside and noted the fire was moving toward the camp. The hunters spotted two other groups of hunters in the area shortly before the fire broke out.

The company hired an independent fire investigator who determined the Cow Creek Fire could not have emanated from the camp Jackson Outfitters rented to the hunters.

“Given the findings of the fire investigators, Jackson Outfitters denies that its actions, or the actions of the hunters caused the Cow Creek Fire,” the statement said.

However, in order to continue to operate its business within the Uncompahgre National Forest and “in consideration of its permit with the USDA Forest Service coming up for renewal,” Jackson Outfitters and its insurance company agreed to settle.

The $500,000 settlement represents roughly 23% of the total cost to fight the fire.

Dana Gardunio, Ouray district ranger for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, referred questions about the settlement to a Forest Service spokesperson, who did not respond by Wednesday.