Company to pay nearly $50M in Calif. wildfire

Environment   Policy
By Juliet Williams on July 19, 2012

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's largest timber company has agreed to pay nearly $50 million and donate 22,500 acres of land to settle a lawsuit over a 2007 wildfire that destroyed about 65,000 acres in Northern California.

Sierra Pacific Industries denied liability, despite agreeing to the settlement announced Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said the Moonlight Fire was caused by two unsupervised employees who operated bulldozers on a red-flag warning day with high fire danger.

Tags: 
Northern California
Sierra Pacific Industries
Benjamin Wagner
Moonlight Fire
William Warne
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