Jason Hidalgo

Reno Gazette-Journal

A District Court judge denied a motion by the state to dismiss legal action brought against it for the Little Valley Fire.

Washoe County District Court Judge Scott Freeman ruled on Wednesday to allow the lawsuits against the state of Nevada to proceed.

“We did get a court order, yesterday late afternoon,” said Ken Lyon, one of the lawyers representing homeowners who filed suit against the state. “The court denied the state’s motion so we are able to proceed forward with this.”

The Little Valley Fire was caused by a prescribed burn done by the Nevada Division of Forestry that went out of control in the early morning hours of Oct. 17, 2016. The burn was done on Whittell Forest land owned by the University of Nevada, Reno. By the time the fire was brought under control five days later, it had burned through 2,291 acres, destroying 23 homes and 17 outbuildings, which included some historic structures. A Reno Gazette-Journal analysis estimated that property damage from the fire could exceed $80 million.

A Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found several factors that contributed to the fire. These included inadequate staffing and monitoring of the oversized burn by the Nevada Division of Forestry, which promised homeowners that it would have staff monitoring the burn site at all times. Transcripts of 911 calls during the fire also showed a delayed response from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, which disregarded an initial report of smoke coming from the burn site.

Several of the RGJ investigation’s findings regarding the NDF’s performance during the controlled burn were confirmed by an independent review that was commissioned by the state. The investigation also found that the NDF pulled crews from the burn site despite lingering smoke and advance warning about heavy winds approaching the area.

Several months after the Little Valley Fire, Nevada State Forester and Firewarden Joe Freeland resigned from his position on April 3. The NDF did not say whether the botched burn and resulting fire played a role in Freeland’s resignation.

The first hearings on the Little Valley Fire lawsuits were held last month. At the time, Freeman agreed to the consolidation of several lawsuits into one case.

— This is a developing story.