1 min read

South Dakota Delegation: All Wildfire Claims To Be Denied

Associated Press0

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s congressional delegation says all residents in South Dakota and North Dakota seeking damages from the federal government for a 2013 wildfire will be denied.

The delegation says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to find that U.S. Forest Service employees were negligent when they started a controlled burn in April of 2013 that blackened more than 10,000 acres.

The Pautre (PAW-tree) Fire torched the Grand River National Grasslands and destroyed fences, bales of forage, buildings and trees.

Todd Campbell is the executive director of the Grand River Cooperative Grazing Association. Campbell says his organization just received a letter from the federal government notifying them their claim was denied because the United States was not liable.

The USDA did not immediately return a request for comment.

The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.
Website http://ap.org/

Related Posts