The US Forest Service failed to adequately fight a 200,000 acre fire in Willamette National Forest that burned $33 million in timber, two lumber companies said in a lawsuit.
The agency ordered the August 2020 Beachie Creek Fire—believed to have been started by lightning—to be treated as a full suppression incident by utilizing helicopter water drops to suppress and contain it.
But after the first attempt at containing the 3.5-acre fire was unsuccessful, the Forest Service failed to drop any water for nearly two weeks—despite prime weather conditions—Freres Timber Inc. and Freres Lumber Co. Inc. said in their lawsuit.
“While ...
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.