Latest news with #ColdFire
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Logging company to pay $200k to settle 2021 El Dorado County wildfire claim
( — Sierra Pacific Industries agreed to pay a little over $200,000 to settle a claim related to the damages from an El Dorado County wildfire that occurred in 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. According to the DOJ, the Cold Fire burned roughly 29 acres, including part of National Forest System lands in the Eldorado National Forest. Video Above: UDSA works to reduce wildfire risk (Feb. 2024) The agency said investigators determined that the fire started on January 19, 2021, when windy conditions spread flames from one of the company's 'timber slash piles.' 'Our office will continue to hold individuals and corporations responsible for damages caused by wildfires,' Acting U.S. Attorney Beckwith said. 'Every fire impacting federal lands, no matter the size, is a priority.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lumber company to pay $200K settlement over El Dorado County wildfire
Sierra Pacific Industries agreed to pay more than $200,000 in damages over a 2021 wildfire that started on the company's land, the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of California said Thursday. On Jan. 19, 2021, a fire began in a timber slush pile, U.S. Forest Service investigators found, that 'escaped containment' during a windy weather event in El Dorado County. The fire — which was known as the Cold Fire — sparked on Sierra Pacific Industries' land and burned 29 acres, including land in the Eldorado National Forest. 'Our office will continue to hold individuals and corporations responsible for damages caused by wildfires,' Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith said in a statement. 'Every fire impacting federal lands, no matter the size, is a priority.' The lumber company, which is based in Anderson (Shasta County), settled with the federal government's claims, but there was 'no determination of liability,' the attorney's office said. 'These settlements are essential in restoring our landscapes after wildfires,' said U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Forest Jason Kuiken in a statement. Sierra Pacific Industries is one of the largest timber companies in the United States, the company's website said, and owns and manages more than 2.4 million acres in California, Oregon and Washington. The company also sells windows and produces renewable energy. 'SPI is committed to managing its lands in a responsible and sustainable manner to protect the environment while providing quality wood products and renewable power for consumers,' the company's website said. 'To SPI, sustainable forest management means more than just planting trees.' Sierra Pacific Industries did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
