Tag Archives: US Forest Service

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for September 11, 2023, attorney Bill Podszus and Curt discuss a discrimination suit against the Buffalo Fire Department; the ruling upholding the termination of a Bridgeport firefighter for “bizarre behavior”; a wrongful death ...

Read More »

Two wildland fire related lawsuits are in the Fire Law headlines, brought by the nation’s two largest wildland firefighting agencies, the US Forest Service and CalFire. The US Forest Service filed suit against Southern California Edison and Utility Tree Service over the Bobcat Fire in 2020.

Read More »

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 21, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a the dismissal of an age-discrimination suit brought by a 46-year old Maryland firefighter recruit; a $20 million suit brought by a terminated fire chief ...

Read More »

Several environmental groups, including the Friends of Big Bear Valley, John Muir Project of Earth Island Institute, and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, have filed suit against the US Forest Service in an effort to block fuel reduction in the San Bernardino National Forest, and more specifically in the vicinity of Big Bear.

Read More »

It seems like each week I am only able to scratch the surface of the fire law news. This week is no exception, but I wanted to point out two additional noteworthy cases. The first involves the settlement of the city’s portion of the Kansas City, Missouri fatal apparatus accident case. The second case involves another firefighter being arrested while engaged in the performance of his duties by an overzealous cop.

Read More »

A wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service has been arrested as part of sexual predator sting operation in central California. Mark McGill Jr. was arrested when he arrived in a Forest Service engine to what he thought was a rendezvous with a teenage girl in Fresno County.

Read More »

An environmental group has filed suit against the US Forest Service claiming that fire retardants used to battle wildland fires violates the Clean Waters Act. Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed suit in US District Court for the District of Montana against the US Forest Service earlier this week.

Read More »

A firefighter who was severely burned in 2015 while battling a wildland fire in Washington state has reached a $5 million settlement with two utility companies who were blamed for causing the fire. Daniel Lyon Jr. was the sole survivor of a US Forest Service engine company that was overrun by fire on August 19, 2015 during the Twisp River Fire.

Read More »

A former Arizona firefighter is suing the United States Department of Agriculture to obtain recordings and transcripts of air-to-ground radio transmissions that took place during the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013. The fire killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

Read More »

A wildland firefighter with the US Forest Service testified before Congress last week about what she considered to be pervasive sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the federal agencies that manage public lands. Denice Rice, a Fire Prevention Technician for ...

Read More »

The US Forest Service is suing Montana’s largest utility for a half-million dollars to recoup the costs associated with fighting the Lakeside Fire outside Helena in 2010. The fire burned over 900 acres in July, 2010, destroying three structures and requiring the evacuation of residents north of Canyon Ferry Lake

Read More »

The US Forest Service has filed suit against a California property owner seeking almost $25 million in compensation for the Mountain Fire in 2013. The suit alleges that negligence in maintaining an electrical box on the property caused the fire that burned 27,531 acres...

Read More »

A group of seven current and former US Forest Service firefighters have filed a wide-ranging complaint alleging sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and gender discrimination. The complaint was filed last month with the US Department of Agriculture, the parent agency of the US Forest Service.

Read More »

The State of Idaho has filed suit against the parties it contends were responsible for causing the Steep Corner Fire in 2012 that claimed the life of a US Forest Service firefighter. Anne Veseth, 20, was killed on August 12, ...

Read More »