The first trial over a prescribed burn started by the Nevada Division of Forestry began this week.
The fire is estimated to have caused more than $80 million in property damage, Courtroom View Network is reporting. The network is broadcasting the proceedings.
The lawsuit was filed by property owners and their insurers who suffered losses in the so-called “Little Valley Fire,” which burned for five days in October 2016.
Plaintiffs accuse state officials of failing to adequately monitor the fire despite high winds and not responding quickly enough. By the time firefighters eventually extinguished the flames, the fire had consumed 2,291 acres, including 23 homes and 17 outbuildings, the network is reporting.
Numerous lawsuits were filed in the wake of the fire, and the complaints were later consolidated into a single case, which now includes 96 plaintiffs consisting of homeowners, commercial property owners, and insurers like Farmers, Travelers, Allstate and Liberty Mutual.
The Nevada Division of Forestry, represented by the state’s attorney general’s office, denies liability for the fire, arguing the blaze burned out of control entirely by accident and was not due to the negligence of state employees.
The case is In Re Little Valley Fire Litigation in Nevada’s Second Judicial District Court.
Topics Nevada
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