Lawsuit Settled Over Electric Fence Forest Fire

Lawsuit Settled Over Electric Fence ForestFire

2002 Valley Fire Destroyed 10 Homes

6January 2005

publishedby http://www.thedenverchannel.com


DURANGO, Colo. — Homeowners, the manufacturer of an electric fence charger andothers have settled a lawsuit over a 2002 wildfire that destroyed 10 homes insouthwestern Colorado.

Most of the details of the settlement, reached last week, were kept secret.The U.S. attorney’s office in Denver said the Forest Service will receive$242,928 for the cost of suppressing the 400-acre Valley Fire, but no otheramounts were disclosed.

The Durango Fire & Rescue Authority concluded that the fire had beenstarted by a weed-burning electric fence with a 20-year-old charger.

The lawsuit claimed, among other things, that the manufacturer of the chargerhad not provided proper instructions, that three men who chose and installed thecharger had not exercised reasonable care, and that a homeowners’ associationshould not have permitted the use of the charger during the severe drought thatyear.


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