Union Pacific to pay landmark $102-million settlement for fire
The move raises the stakes for those found responsible for starting forest fires, even accidentally. The railroad was blamed for a 2000 fire that a judge says ruined habitat, views and other features.
Union Pacific Railroad Co. has agreed to pay $102 million to the U.S. Forest Service for a devastating 2000 wildfire north of Sacramento in a landmark settlement that dramatically increases the stakes in punishing those responsible for setting forest fires.
The settlement announced today marks the most money the U.S Forest Service has ever received in a lawsuit and was undergirded by a first-of-its-kind ruling by a federal judge, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said Union Pacific was not only responsible for the cost of firefighting and lost timber, but also damage to young growth, soil, wildlife, habitat, recreation use and views.
Five Union Pacific workers were accused of neglecting safety precautions when using power tools to repair track on Aug. 17, 2000, in Plumas National Forest.
By failing to use spark shields and clear the area of flammable material, smoldering bits of metal were able to ignite a blaze that would later consume 52,000 acres within the Plumas and Lassen national forests over three weeks, federal officials said.
A Union Pacific spokeswoman said today that the settlement was reached in order to put the so-called Storrie Fire behind them and it was agreed upon without any admission of liability on the part of its crew.
She said the crew had extinguished the flames when the fire started, but a passing train reignited it and allowed it to spread.
"We feel our employees did all the right things," said Zoe Richmond, the spokeswoman. "These were extraordinary circumstances. . . . This happened in 2000. It was a long time ago and it's time for us to move on."
Around 2,600 firefighters battled the flames without any loss of life or structure damage at a cost of $22 million. But U.S. attorneys argued that the actual cost of the blaze far exceeded just the firefighting resources and loss of valuable trees.
After recovering the costs of fighting the fire, $80 million will go to restoring landscapes and repairing ecological damage. Trees will be replanted, trails and roads improved and dangerous woody fuels cleared, officials said.
"The money received will go directly to remedy and heal the harm to these forests," said John Heil, a Forest Service spokesman.
Heil said a first payment of $35 million was received July 2. A second payment of $35 million is scheduled for Aug. 15. A final payment of $32 million is set for Oct. 15. Union Pacific's operating revenue in 2007 was $16.3 billion.
Authorities have heightened their efforts to recover costs associated with wildfires and punish those responsible -- even if by accident. The Dept. of Justice established Fire Recovery Teams in California and Utah earlier this year to bolster their ability to seek damages.
The $102-million figure marks a sizable increase from the previous record settlement targeting the origins of a wildfire -- $14 million in 2006 paid by Southern California Edison for its role in the Big Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest, officials said.
Over a five-year period, about two-thirds of state wildfires were started accidentally by humans, natural causes or unsafe use of equipment, according to a study by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
One-third were triggered by power tools and equipment. Arsonists, by comparison, were responsible for 7%.
david.pierson@latimes.com
