State Forester v. Umpqua River Navigation Co.

The plaintiffs are the State Forester and a governmental subdivision created for fire fighting purposes. Plaintiffs brought this statutory proceeding to recover the fire suppression costs incurred in fighting a large forest fire known as the Oxbow fire. Plaintiffs allege that the fire was started by the negligence of the defendant. A jury returned a verdict for defendant and plaintiffs appeal.

On August 20 the defendant, Umpqua River Navigation Company, was working on a federal contract to resurface a forest road. Umpqua spread gravel and then compacted it by running a roller over it. On that…