Oregon Wildfire Response Suit Draws Government Bid for Immunity

The government is asking a federal court to dismiss a case challenging its response to a 2020 wildfire in Oregon.

“Dismissal is appropriate because the Forest Service’s challenged decisions in suppressing the Beachie Creek Fire are immune” under the Federal Tort Claims Act’s discretionary function exception, the US told the US District Court for the District of Oregon on Tuesday.

The US Forest Service allegedly failed to adequately fight a 200,000-acre fire in Willamette National Forest that burned $33 million in timber, Freres Timber Inc. and Freres Lumber Co. Inc. claimed in January.

The lumber companies said ...