COBB >>Two homeowners at the center of a controversy over how last September’s deadly Valley Fire started have retained a high-powered law firm and have filed legal action against CalFire.
The law firm filed a court motion Thursday demanding their clients, John and Cindy Pinch, be given access to evidence seized from their property during the investigation into the cause of the more than 76,000-acre blaze.
The inferno destroyed more than 1,300 houses, 27 apartment buildings, killed four people and seriously injured four firefighters who suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) released a 56-page report Wednesday that alleged the Valley Fire was caused by improperly installed electrical connections for an outdoor hot tub. This wiring caused an arc of white-hot electricity that set fire to dry grass and leaves that the wiring was in contact with, according to the report.
The CalFire report, signed by Deputy Chief James Engel of CalFire’s Northern Region Law Enforcement unit, stated, “It is my opinion the Valley Fire originated near the electrical connections located within the (Pinch property) and the ignition came from the loose electrical connections arcing and igniting the dry grass.”
John and Cindy Pinch of High Valley Road in Cobb rejected direct responsibility, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee. According to the article the couple claimed not to have been at the property when the blaze ignited and were stunned by the report. They retained the law firm of Haight Brown & Bonesteel, headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm has offices throughout the state, including San Francisco and Sacramento. The Pinches are co-owners of the property where CalFire says the fire originated.
The Record-Bee has been unable to reach the Pinches for comment. However their law firm issued a press release Thursday that stated, “We extend our sincere sympathy to those who experienced losses as a result of the Valley Fire We are grateful to the heroic firemen who risked everything to attempt to contain this fire.”
The press release was signed by John and Cindy Pinch.
Contacted Friday, Ken Anderson, attorney for the Pinches, said from his Los Angeles office that he couldn’t expand much on the press release.
“We don’t know a lot because we have not had a chance to look at the evidence,” he said.
Anderson added, “CalFire took some things from their (Pinchse) property. We want our own experts to look at it (the seized evidence).”
A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Sacramento Superior Court.
“We have reviewed Cal Fire’s conclusions on the cause and origins of the fire,” the Pinches state in the press release. “Unfortunately, there remain many unanswered questions and, through no fault of our own, we have been denied the ability to do our own independent investigation.”
The statement continued, “No owners or authorized persons were on our property at the time the fire was first reported. An eyewitness reported that a vehicle not previously seen on the property, entered our property just before the fire broke out. Moreover, the physical damage to our property is not consistent with Cal Fire’s fire theory, neither are documented multiple points of origin in the neighborhood.”
It went on, “We are disappointed Cal Fire has denied us access to evidence from our house and the property around our house that it seized. This effectively prevents us access to evidence from our house and the property around our house that it seized. This effectively prevents us from examining critical evidence that may help to explain how and why the fire started.”
The statement ended, “We wish we could respond very specifically to Cal Fire’s conclusions. That is the reason we filed a motion with the court to allow us to examine and evaluate the seized evidence.”
Anderson indicated that the other property co-owners, Parker and Laura Mills, may have retained their own legal counsel.
A spokesman for CalFire in Sacramento, Information Officer Daniel Berlant, responded to the legal action, saying, “Evidence in this case continues to be preserved until the (Lake County) district attorney determines what steps to take next.”
CalFire’s report on the investigation into the fire’s cause may offer several clues as to what type of evidence was seized and retained.
In a reference to the circuit that powered the hot tub, the report refers to an analysis of the wiring by an independent laboratory. This and other reference imply that items seized may include the hot tub circuitry along with copper wire and PVC pipes that melted when the circuit heated to nearly 2,000 degrees and other wiring found lying in burnt grass at the Pinch residence in the 8000 block of High Valley Road in Cobb.
Lake County’s Fifth District Supervisor, Rob Brown, reacted Friday to the news of legal action. “I expect it’s that they are preparing for the anticipated number of civil cases to come,” he said, adding, “I’m just speculating.”
Brown said he thought that CalFire’s investigation into the cause was “very thorough.”
The report took nearly a year to prepare, an unusually long amount of time for a wildland fire cause investigation.
“I initially wondered why it was taking so long but at the press conference, it was obvious why it was taking so much time for a thorough investigation,” Brown said.
The investigation remains open and is now in the hands of Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson to determine if any criminal charges are warranted in the case.
“I think we should wait and let the rest of the investigative process work itself out,” Brown added. “I’m sure there’s going to be civil action against them (the homeowners) and their insurance company.”
The cost of fire suppression for the Valley Fire is nearly $50 million and the cleanup cost has topped $100 million. The property loss is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
There are reports, that Cindy and John Pinch have received threats of violence against them.
Following Wednesday’s hastily-called press conference in front of the Middletown fire station, several journalists questioned among themselves why the name and address of the family was released by CalFire.
Berlant said Friday that the report on the cause of the fire is a public document and that all information gathered from witnesses and others interviewed by investigators are part of the document and are public.
He noted that some personal information was redacted in the report, including the Pinch residence address. However, the address was listed a little later in the report, making it easy for readers to connect Pinch with the address.
“We have followed the law every step of the way in this investigation,” Berlant responded.
