SPOKANE — Dozens of insurance companies have joined in filing a lawsuit against Inland Power and Light for damages that resulted from the Gray fire last August.
The suit, filed in Spokane County Superior Court last week, alleges Inland Power was negligent by failing to properly install and maintain electrical equipment that caused the fire, and for failing to turn off its power lines during a red -flag weather warning.
The Gray fire destroyed 240 homes, plus other structures in Medical Lake and the surrounding area. One man died trying to escape.
The 62 insurance companies from across the country are represented by Berger Kahn law firm based in Irvine, California, and claim Inland Power’s negligence led to financial losses from payments to their insured customers’ damaged real and personal property.
Inland Power did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. The company recently denied responsibility for the fire in response to another lawsuit brought by a group of residents weeks after the fire. In court documents, Inland Power argued that its actions or inactions were not the cause or foreseeable cause of the fire and that it was the result of an unavoidable accident or act of God.
A Department of Natural Resources investigation early this year determined that sparks from an Inland Power security light mounted to a power pole started the fire.
Witnesses complained to Inland Power several months before the fire that the light was flickering. The utility company later replaced or attempted to repair the light, according to the lawsuit, which alleges “improper installation and maintenance” of the electrical equipment.
Eyewitnesses told investigators they saw sparks or burning material falling from the light pole shortly after the fire started.
At least two other lawsuits have been filed by residents against Inland Power in connection to the fire.
The insurance lawsuit also names “Does 1-100,” meaning potential other unknown individuals or entities that may share fault for the damages could be added later.
James Hanlon’s reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper’s managing editor.
