The Holy Fire burns in the Cleveland National Forest behind homes along Crystal Ridge Court in Lake Elsinore, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (Mark Rightmire/The Orange County Register via AP)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Officials say a construction company and a logging firm have collectively agreed to pay $9 million for damages resulting from a 2012 wildfire that burned more than 1,600 acres of national forest land in Northern California.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Sacramento says Monday that the agreement settles a lawsuit brought by the federal government against Kernen Construction and Bundy & Sons Logging.
Prosecutors say Bundy logging equipment hauled by Kernen became unsecured and dragged along a highway, causing sparks that ignited dry vegetation.
The resulting blaze charred a swath of brush and timber within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Neither company admits liability for the fire under the settlement.
