Settlements from government-lit wildfire surpass $700K
16 September 2019
Published by https://rapidcityjournal.com/
USA – The total cost of lawsuit settlements associated with a 2013 wildfire started by the government in northwestern South Dakota has now surpassed $700,000, with the possibility of more payouts to come from a settlement conference scheduled for November.
The seventh settlement to arise from the lawsuit is for $45,000, payable from the federal government to Duane and Dawn Harris and Albert Keller, collectively. The settlement agreement appeared in the public court file Aug. 27.
Six previous settlements filed since June added up to $676,000, which brings the new total to $721,000.
The lawsuit remains pending for these additional plaintiffs: Eric and Laurie Casper, Diamond Acre Trust, Grand River Cooperative Grazing Association, Robert and Connie Hermann, Ryan Hermann, Jamie Hermann and Roger Sonn. A scheduling order has been filed for a settlement conference planned for Nov. 15, although the order does not say which plaintiffs will participate in the conference.
Tuesday, the government filed a motion to dismiss the claims by the Grand River Cooperative Grazing Association. The government’s motion says the association’s grazing agreement with the U.S. Forest Service includes a provision holding the government harmless from all loss, expense, liability or other obligation arising from any accident or other occurrence causing injuries or property damage, whether due directly or indirectly to the use and management of the Forest Service’s land. The motion awaits a judge’s consideration.
The Pautre Fire started as a prescribed burn that was lit April 3, 2013, by U.S. Forest Service employees in Pasture 3B on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in the Lemmon area, near the border of South Dakota and North Dakota.
The burn was intended to cover 210 acres of federally owned land, according to a later Forest Service report. Prescribed burns are used for a variety of purposes, including the control of grass and weed species and the elimination of dry or dead vegetation that could fuel large wildfires.
Wind blew the prescribed burn beyond its intended area, and it became a wildfire that burned for several days. It destroyed grass that ranchers depended on for their cattle, along with other items including crops and fences.
Court documents say the fire burned 3,519 acres of federally owned land and 7,160 acres of privately owned land, for a total of 10,679 acres, which is nearly 17 square miles.
In 2015, affected landowners filed multiple lawsuits that were eventually consolidated into one case. The lawsuits alleged that the Forest Service made mistakes in its preparation and execution of the prescribed burn, including a failure to heed vital weather information.
The government has not admitted any liability or fault in the seven settlement agreements that have been filed so far.
