Inland Power and Light denied responsibility for the Gray Fire earlier this month in response to a lawsuit filed by Medical Lake area residents affected by the fire.
An investigation by the Department of Natural Resources earlier this year concluded that sparks from an emergency light belonging to the utility Inland Power had caused the fire.
The findings were consistent with claims made by residents in several lawsuits filed weeks after the fire.
Inland Power attorney Scott Cefriese said at the time that the company does not comment on pending litigation, making Inland Power’s response to the lawsuit in the Aug. 5 court documents the company’s first public response.
The company denied allegations that it was responsible for the fire, arguing that Inland Power’s actions or omissions were neither the cause nor the foreseeable cause of the fire.
Inland Power argued that the residents who filed the suit were not entitled to any damages that they could have mitigated.
“Landowners have a duty to take defensive and protective measures, including but not limited to, watering and clearing areas around buildings, improvements and facilities and/or using recommended and available fire-resistant building materials, as well as other long-recommended measures, to protect property and prevent the spread of fire to neighboring properties,” the response said.
The company further argued that the fire was caused by an unavoidable accident or natural disaster that Inland Power could not have foreseen.
Inland Power and Light “is not an insurer for everything that can go wrong with electricity distribution.”
The trial date for the lawsuit is set for September 2025. Lawsuits against Avista related to the 2020 Babb Road fire that destroyed the cities of Malden and Pine City are still pending.
