Judge Rejects Broad Claims In Deadly North Fork Fire
DENVER (AP) - A judge in Golden has rejected broad claims against the state by Coloradans affected by a 2012 blaze that forestry officials started as a controlled burn, but negligence claims can go ahead.
Attorney General John Suthers issued a statement Wednesday saying orders a day earlier by Judge Dennis Hall in the North Fork Fire compensation case makes clear the plaintiffs are limited to remedies provided by state law. The state legislature last week appropriated $2.06 million in compensation for five victims of the March 2012 fire that killed three, destroyed 24 buildings and burned 4,140 acres. That appropriation brings the total paid by the state to $4.9 million for 16 people.
Among claims Hall rejected was an allegation the conduct of officials "shocks the conscience."
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