California Blamed In-N-Out Burger, Filed Suit Over Wildfire
The famous old-school eatery In-N-Out is guilty of serving delicious burgers and fries (always with a hidden Christian message).
But in recent months, the state of California said the restaurant was also behind a 2017 wildfire.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection filed a lawsuit against the company in September, seeking a hefty $1.2 million while blaming the burger joint for starting the Huasna Fire two years ago.
According to The Tribune in San Luis Obispo County, Cal Fire claimed a lawnmower working at a remote property owned by In-N-Out sparked the blaze.
The lawsuit said the company’s land was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.”
Cut grass allegedly built up on a mower’s deck and was then ignited by an extremely hot clutch.
The embers were then reportedly blown off the equipment, ultimately resulting in the blaze.
The Huasna Fire burnt up more than 200 acres over four days before crews were able to put it out.
“Wildland fires such as the Huasna Fire ordinarily do not happen unless someone was negligent,” the lawsuit claimed.
The million-dollar suit from California was meant to cover the cost of equipment and crews that worked to fight the blaze, as well as all the cleanup and investigations in the fire’s aftermath.
Video footage of the 2017 wildfire showed the fury of the inferno:
Fire behavior on #Huasnafire yesterday. @VentanaHC pic.twitter.com/bFhTPeTUA6
— Ventana Handcrew (@VentanaHC) September 21, 2017
On Monday, The Tribune reported that the suit had been settled out of court.
The details of the settlement are not available to the public.
Due to the confidential nature of the settlement, we may never now the extent of In-N-Out’s responsibility for the fire.
That being said, experts have pointed to California’s mismanagement of its wilderness areas as a reason wildfires spread so easily.
Many on the left continue to claim the blazes are the result of climate change.
California has struggled with wildfires in recent years, and the blazes only seem to grow larger and more quickly with each passing season.
Drought conditions and winds have pushed fire crews to their limits in the state.
While blaming a company for wildfires is nothing new for California, it remains to be seen how effective these lawsuits will be in preventing future fires.
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