Fire from neighbor's land

[macdoesit]

Do you have witnesses that he started the fire??

 

[olenjohn]

Neighbors insurance policy should cover the damages. Been there. Hopefully he has good insurance. Keep the lawyers out of it.

 

[Jstpssng]

"they should do their job"
The district attorney is concerned with the violation of the (Burn Ban) law. The damages sustained to private property are a civil matter. If it goes to court or arbitration, the fact that there was a BURN BAN in effect would go to the neighbors culpability - a matter for civil action.

First you must DOCUMENT the damages in detail. If you negotiate based on "about a thousand dollars" and later discover and want to add five hundred for this or for that, you may be out of luck or have some difficulty changing the damages number upwardly!

I was replying to the first post on this thread, where the OP said

Not sure should I contact a lawyer, the DA

 

[ultrarunner]

Add to the limited access, and maintenance type limitations the California State Board which controls utility rates had denied multiple rates increase requests for funding to do the needed line maintenance.

California rates are about as high per kW as anywhere in the country…

Couldn’t be 4 times higher than what others pay if rate increases not approved.

 

[Riding a Relic]

Got a phone call this morning that the neighbor next to my property let his fire get away and burned about 15 acres of my property and one structure. The house trailer was unocupied but was used for storage. Not sure should I contact a lawyer, the DA or work out something with the neighbor. I don't live on the property but my children do and there is a no burn order for the whole state.

Most definitely go see the neighbor first, since your children reside there. One of my neighbors was burning off a garden plot, and it was windy and dry that day, it jumped over on my place. A fire truck and forestry commission came and controlled it pretty quickly, as my house has that plastic siding on it, I got a little concerned about my plastic being melted mess, but it never got that close. He was so much apologetic about it, I told him all that stuff needed burning off anyway, let's do it again in a few years.

 

[JLinOK]

Got a phone call this morning that the neighbor next to my property let his fire get away and burned about 15 acres of my property and one structure. The house trailer was unocupied but was used for storage. Not sure should I contact a lawyer, the DA or work out something with the neighbor. I don't live on the property but my children do and there is a no burn order for the whole state.

You know, my first question was going to be wtf were you doing burning trash during a red flag fire warning in a rusted out oil drum. However, I was a little concerned about my neighbors mental stability and he did call the fire dept. They got in without cutting my chain/lock and the burning, though close to catastrophic (was stopped just short of entering my cedar valley), actually was beneficial, so I let it go and took cookies to the fire department as a thank you. Your experience may have varied.

 

[woody]

Most definitely go see the neighbor first, since your children reside there. One of my neighbors was burning off a garden plot, and it was windy and dry that day, it jumped over on my place. A fire truck and forestry commission came and controlled it pretty quickly, as my house has that plastic siding on it, I got a little concerned about my plastic being melted mess, but it never got that close. He was so much apologetic about it, I told him all that stuff needed burning off anyway, let's do it again in a few years.

I haven't even gotten an apology and as far as I know my kids which live on the land have not either.
I did learn yesterday that even though they were saying not to burn and no burn on television it was not an official no burn, but if he had called for a permit he would not have gotten one.

 

[Mike0616]

It’s already well known by state agencies that he “broke the law”. Who is he supposed to report it to?

The documentation is primarily for use in getting any claims against neighbor paid, through court or otherwise. No documentation = never happened!

 

[paulsharvey]

I haven't even gotten an apology and as far as I know my kids which live on the land have not either.
I did learn yesterday that even though they were saying not to burn and no burn on television it was not an official no burn, but if he had called for a permit he would not have gotten one.

Well, you shouldn't expect an apology, that is an admission of guilt. You Never apologize, car accident, utility damage, ect, Never. I dont care if he is on video, and absolutely solid proof, you don't apologize, you dispute the claim, and if it drags into arbitration after 3 years, it's often settled for less than the initial claimed ammount

Are burn permits required for the type of burning he was doing? I really think this is just an insurance case, and move on.

 

[logixjock]

I burnt my neighbors woods last spring, you can bet your azz I fell all over myself apologizing for it after the rural fire trucks finally left that night. I felt like a complete jackwagon.

I've got a 100 gallon water tank and pump, a 4 gallon backpack and a 2 gallon handheld sprayers this year.