Nearly two dozen property owners near Paradise filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging the River Road East Fire was started by a railcar. The fire burned a little over 17,000 acres near Paradise and destroyed around 15 homes in August.
Plaintiffs allege that BNSF Railway and Montana Rail Link may be liable for the fire. They argue that witnesses and a fire expert believe that fire was started near the tracks because of deferred maintenance. They say that many maintenance issues can throw sparks into nearby vegetation.
It’s unclear which railway could be held liable. Montana Rail Link maintains the tracks, while BNSF utilizes them for railcars.
Neither rail company responded to a request for comment by deadline.
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The Flathead County Sheriff Friday afternoon issued a new mandatory evacuation order for the 3,000 acre East Fork Fire burning approximately 12 miles outside of Trego, MT. A new fire burning across the river from Paradise is being pushed by strong winds. Highway 200 is closed from Plains to Highway 135 due to the fire activity.