Tag Archives: wildland fire

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.

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Five California municipalities along with three government agencies have filed suit against the beleaguered utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), seeking to recoup damages and the costs associated with fighting the Kincade fire in October, 2019.

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A lawsuit filed by Pacific Gas and Electric against the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District challenging the validity of fire safety ordinances has been dismissed. PG&E, who was forced into bankruptcy over liabilities associated with wildfires caused with its electrical wires, objected to Ordinance 35 as being beyond the authority of the district to enact.

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In a plea agreement announced today, Pacific Gas & Electric will plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in causing the Camp Fire in 2018. The utility was indicted previously in Butte County, but the indictment was sealed while the plea negotiations were ongoing.

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An Australian firefighter who was convicted of setting a wildland fire and calling into two false alarms has had his one-year prison sentence reduced to a nine-month suspended sentence by an appellate court.

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The State of Oregon is pursuing the people it considers responsible for causing three wildland fires that cost the state over $40 million to fight. The largest of the three claims was filed against Dominic Decarlo and Cloyd Deardorff, who are accused of accidentally starting the Stouts Creek Fire with a mower on July 30, 2015.

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Sixty Colorado residents have filed a pro-se lawsuit against the state, El Paso County, and the Black Forest Fire District over the Black Forest Fire that occurred in June, 2013. The fire, which the suit claims began in part due to a controlled burn, consumed 15,000 acres, destroyed over 500 homes, and killed two people.

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