CalFire may bill Nutting for fire suppression
By Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee
El Dorado County Supervisor Ray Nutting, already facing charges for allegedly failing to declare state income for brush clearing on his ranch, is now waiting to find out if he will be billed for a November incident in which fires broke out from smoldering burn piles that reignited.
CalFire says four small fires broke out Nov. 22 on Nutting’s 340-acre timber ranch in Somerset. CalFire investigators recently completed their report on the department’s response to the Nutting property. Since 2001, state crews have responded five times to fires on Nutting’s ranch resulting from burn piles as part of work to clear vegetation and other fire hazards.
CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said the agency is reviewing the incident to determine if Nutting should be held liable for fire response costs and, if so, how much he should pay.