Property owners and insurers have filed a lawsuit against Nevada officials over a “prescribed burn” event that led to an uncontrollable fire that caused over $80 million in property damage.
The first trial over the fire case begins August 06, 2018, Courtroom View Network reported. A total of 96 plaintiffs are attached to the lawsuit, including property owners affected by the fire and their insurers – such as Farmers, Travelers, Allstate and Liberty Mutual.
On October 04, 2016, the Nevada Division of Forestry began a prescribed fire on Whittell Forest land owned by the University of Nevada, Reno. However, remnants of the blaze managed to spread outside the prescribed area and went out of control on October 17, 2016.
By the time the “Little Valley Fire” was brought under control five days later, it had ravaged 2,291 acres of land, destroyed 23 homes and 17 outbuildings. Reports say that some of the buildings damaged in the fire were of historical importance.
A Reno Gazette-Journal investigation estimated that the damage from the fire could exceed $80 million.
The trial will be presided over by Washoe County Judge Scott Freeman, who had consolidated the numerous individual lawsuits into a single case; it is expected to take two weeks to complete. At least 17 attorneys from various law firms are involved in the case.
The state department that had prescribed the fire will be represented by the Nevada attorney general’s office. Since the incident, the department has denied any liability for the fire – previous court filings from the Division of Forestry claimed that the fire burned out of control entirely by accident, and not due to the negligence of its employees.
========================
See smoke? It's a controlled burn in the Whittell Forest
Marcella Corona, mcorona@rgj.com
Oct. 3, 2016
If you see smoke coming from the Whittell Forest Tuesday, don’t be alarmed. It’s a controlled burn.
That’s the message the Nevada Division of Forestry is sending out to residents in the area. Firefighters from the Washoe Valley Volunteer Fire Department are planning on conducting a prescribed burn Tuesday in the Whittell Forest near Little Valley, authorities said in a news release.
Burn boss and trainee taking fuel moisture readings today at #LittleValleyBurn. pic.twitter.com/ExJr2zYM88— Nevada Forestry (@NevadaForestry) October 2, 2016
The prescribed burn area is about three miles west of Washoe Lake and about 2 miles northeast of Lake Tahoe. It was not immediately known what time Tuesday crews would conduct the burn.
The goal is to protect meadow ecosystems by removing encroaching vegetation and heavy layers of matted grass, authorities said.
“This will create healthy stands in forested areas and form a shaded fuel break to help protect structures on the west end of Washoe Valley from the threat of wildland fire,” the Nevada Division of Forestry said in a news release.