Cal Fire has filed a complaint against Orange County and two Public Works employees seeking to recoup nearly $32 million in costs associated with last year’s Airport fire.
The state agency filed in Orange County Superior Court to recover costs related to “fire suppression, investigation, report-making, administrative, accounting and collection,” as well as legal fees, according to the complaint dated Sept. 3.
The Airport fire, which erupted Sept. 9, 2024 in Trabuco Canyon, and burned for 26 days, destroyed more than 160 structures and 23,000 acres across Orange and Riverside counties. Twenty-two people — two civilians and 20 firefighters — were injured and thousands were forced to evacuate.
Cal Fire’s complaint alleges the blaze ignited when the two workers from the Public Works Department were moving boulders in Trabuco Canyon. Despite wind gusts, dry vegetation and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, the employees failed to use adequate fire suppression equipment or keep a water tender on site and “did not properly clear flammable materials” in the vicinity of their work area, according to the court document.
“At all relevant times, the county failed to take reasonable precautions necessary to prevent the starting and spreading of fire,” the complaint said.
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