SPOKANE, Wash – More than 60 insurance companies have joined a lawsuit against Inland Power and Light, saying the power company should have done more to prevent the catastrophic Gray Fire that burned hundreds of homes near Medical Lake.
The fire started on August 18, 2023 at a property west of Medical Lake.
By the time the fire was out, more than 200 families had lost their homes; one man was also killed in the fire.
DNR determined the fire was started by an arcing wire on an Inland Power and Light pole. Sparks from the wire torched nearby grass and high winds carried the flames.
In the recent lawsuit filed last week in Spokane County Superior Court, 62 insurance companies filed a claim for damages against Inland Power and Light.
The suit says that people complained months before that a light on that pole was flickering and malfunctioning.
The companies say despite knowing the extreme fire danger last August, “Inland Power did not conduct a public power shut-off or de-energize their powerlines, despite knowledge that these are proven methods to prevent wildfires.”
The lawsuit says Inland Power was negligent because it “should have known that its electrical transmission and distribution system involved a foreseeable risk for fire.”
The lawsuit was just filed so Inland Power and Light have no responded.
In previous lawsuits filed against the company over this fire, Inland Power has said the fire was not forseeable for Inland Power, so the company is not accountable.
The company also said in court filings that homeowners are responsible for damages because they did not take the necessary steps to reduce wildfire risk.
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