Farmers Insurance Blames Santa Cruz County for Fire

Insurance giant says county liable for Trabing Fire
Kurtis Alexander - Sentinel Staff Writer

In claims filed with Santa Cruz County, Farmers Insurance Group contends county officials contributed to the spread of last summer's Trabing Fire by failing to keep roadsides free of flammable vegetation and harboring conditions that advanced the flames.

The county denies the charges, and on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors dismissed a dozen requests by the insurance giant for nearly $3 million worth of property damage that resulted from the fire.

Attorneys for the county declined comment, citing the possibility of a lawsuit and a policy of not discussing litigation. The issue has yet to proceed to court.

The Trabing Fire started June 20 when a vehicle on Highway 1, at Buena Vista Drive, sprayed hot exhaust into dry grass. About 630 acres burned, including 26 homes and nearly 50 other buildings.

While the county is not responsible for maintaining the state highway, Farmers Insurance alleges that once the fire started, overgrown vegetation on nearby county roads fanned the flames and contributed to the destruction.

"The injury to plaintiff's insureds was approximately caused by this dangerous condition," the claims read.

Officials with Farmers Insurance declined to immediately comment.

Cal Fire Chief John Ferreira, the state's top fire official in Santa Cruz County, says the county's vegetation management practices probably had little to do with the fire and its advance.

"Even had the roadsides been mowed, the fire would have raced through there because of the weather conditions and dryness," he said.

Only bare ground would have stopped that fire, Ferreira said, something that is virtually impossible to provide.

This is not the first time the county's vegetation management program has drawn criticism.

In 2005, the Board of Supervisors imposed a ban on the use of herbicides to control roadside brush, which triggered concerns among the public, as well as some in the Public Works Department, that the county would not be able to keep up with its pruning responsibilities.

Mowing the vegetation, which many said was more environmentally friendly than spraying, takes longer and costs more.

Jane Amaral, a Farmers Insurance customer who lost a greenhouse to the Trabing Fire, said she took note when the county changed its clearing methods and has since seen more brush accumulate along Larkin Valley Road.

"When they sprayed it, it didn't come up as fast," she said. "The mowing doesn't seem to be as efficient."

Amaral, who has already received her insurance payment, is among those whom Farmers Insurance is trying to hold the county liable for.

Public Works Director Tom Bolich acknowledged Tuesday that the new vegetation management practices don't accomplish as much as when herbicides were used. But, he said, they meet their primary goal of ensuring safe clearance and visibility on 270 miles of county roads.

The claims submitted by Fire Insurance Exchange, a division of Farmers Insurance, convey the damages of 12 Farmers Insurance customers on Trabing Road, Larkin Valley Road and Azure Lane, and ask the county to pay losses on buildings as well as certain living expenses of fire victims.

Source: santacruzsentinel.com