Black Forest residents sue over handling of fire

Fifty-eight people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in last year’s Black Forest Fire have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that state and local authorities were negligent in fighting the blaze.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million for each of the homes affected.

The suit claims that the state and El Paso County failed to use resources available to them, and that that former Black Forest Fire Chief Robert Harvey delayed turning over command of the fire.

The suit also blames Scott Campbell, the county’s assistant deputy fire marshal, for setting a controlled burn on the same day of the fire that made the initial wildfire even worse.

Darrell Fortner, one of the plaintiffs, said the victims want to be reimbursed for emotional distress and financial loss.

“I just don’t understand why they didn’t get that fire put out sooner,” he said. “The firefighters themselves were terrific but the people in command were extremely negligent.”

El Paso County spokesman Dave Rose said officials are aware of the lawsuit but haven’t been served with it yet. Rose also said the county has had legal dealings with Fortner before and are skeptical about the merits of the suit.

“The county has received information that some of the citizens who are signatories on the lawsuit documents, may not have understood that they were signing onto a lawsuit,” he said. “We’re concerned that citizens ought to know what it is that they’re signing onto.”

Fortner said Rose is mistaken.

“There was a copy of the complaint,” Fortner said. “Anyone had a chance to read it and sign it. No one made anyone sign it.”

The suit is scheduled for a hearing Sept. 22 in a Denver federal courtroom. Fortner said he has asked Bill Finger, a Denver-area attorney, to represent victims in the case, but that Finger has not decided yet.

The June 11, 2013, wildfire killed two people, destroyed about 500 homes and burned 15,000 acres. The cause has yet to be determined.