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Orange County to challenge CalFire’s $32M lawsuit over Airport Fire. Hearing set for June
Vintage cars destroyed by the Airport Fire.
(
Etienne Laurent
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AFP via Getty Images
)
Topline:
Cal Fire’s $32 million lawsuit against Orange County over recovery efforts for the Airport Fire is set to face a judge on June 11. The county’s legal counsel claims that the state agency’s lawsuit is legally flawed.
Why now? Cal Fire filed the suit in September. The state agency is looking to recover fire suppression, investigation and administrative costs related to the fire, as well as legal fees.
The background: The Airport Fire burned for 26 days, destroying more than 23,000 acres across Orange and Riverside counties in 2024. As a result, 22 people were injured and 160 structures were damaged. The fire was accidentally sparked by OC Public Works employees, who are also named in Cal Fire’s lawsuit. County attorneys argue that the county is not "vicariously liable for the alleged actions of its employees.”
What else have we learned? Messages between public officials obtained by LAist show that all three work crew supervisors and a manager at OC Public Works were alerted to high fire danger Sept. 9, 2024, hours before their crew accidentally started the fire.
The county’s argument: The county’s lawyers argue the state agency’s complaint is “fatally defective” because the county is not a “person” subject to liability under the health and safety codes that Cal Fire pointed to in its lawsuit. In a statement, the county said it does not comment on pending litigation. Cal Fire did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.
Go deeper… into LAist’s full investigation into the Airport Fire.
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