If government is at fault, it should pay

If I burned down my neighbor's house, she probably would sue me to recoup her loss. And if someone were to die in the fire, I probably would face criminal charges. But if my neighbor is injured by the government, these normal rules of law don't apply.

Even though the Colorado State Forest Service has been blamed for the destruction of 27 structures and three deaths that occurred after a recent controlled burn went awry, its legal responsibility has been limited under a 1971 governmental immunity statute that caps liability at $150,000 per individual and $600,000 per incident.

The Lower North Fork Fire started as a controlled burn on March 22, but reignited in 80 mph winds on March 26, spreading across more than 4,000 acres and causing $11.3 million in property damage. Firefighting efforts were hampered by a series of communication mishaps and a delay in ordering evacuations. Many residents did not receive emergency phone calls, including one of the victims.

Sheriff's investigators issued a report that found no criminal violations related to the wildfire, but a separate state government report said the Forest Service violated its own protocols by not monitoring the burn the day before the fire erupted even though the National Weather Service had issued a Red Flag Warning for low humidity and strong winds.

The report also made several recommendations for preventing such catastrophes in the future, including improving weather information and fire-danger rating systems used in fire planning, and strengthening standards for extinguishing controlled burns, especially in populated areas.

Meanwhile, affected homeowners are justifiably angry that the Forest Service chose to set the fire during one of the driest Marches on record. At one point, the fire had forced the evacuation of 900 homes and required more than 700 firefighting personnel, plus numerous aircraft and helicopters to drop fire retardants and water.

I agree with Patrick Mooney, general manager of Intermountain Rural Electric Assn., who said the Legislature should raise the liability cap. The association, one of nine claimants that have filed notices of intent to sue the state, lost 2.5 miles of power distribution lines in the fire and has spent $700,000 to repair them, even before paying mounting overtime compensation for restoring electric service to customers in the affected area.

While tort reforms such as Colorado's Governmental Immunity Act are intended to protect governments from frivolous lawsuits and huge liability claims that could prevent them from providing services, they need to be reviewed and updated to keep pace with inflation. After all, the state and local governments are collecting more in taxes as individuals earn more and homes increase in value. Moreover, capping the state's liability without also ensuring that it will be held accountable for its own negligence gives government too much power.