Taking Nevada

California has suffered another wildfire that truly defies adjectives.  Devastating is an understatement.  42 dead and an entire town incinerated.  In light of the destruction of the town of Paradise, calling the Camp Fire “apocalyptic” seems appropriate.  News sources are beginning to report that days before the fire, utility giant PG&E notified landowners that it needed access to property to repair power lines that were throwing off sparks.  While post hoc ergo propter hoc is a logical fallacy, it’s also often a true assessment of affairs.  It seems, at first glance, that PG&E’s facilities may be the cause of this inferno.

Last year, massive wildfires caused by utilities made the Legislature of California consider whether to change that state’s laws concerning the application of inverse condemnation to utility-sparked wildfires.  At the same time, the Nevada Supreme Court is considering the application of Nevada’s inverse condemnation jurisprudence to an escaped “controlled” burn set by the State.

As I have mentioned before, the current condition of the law in the West does not do a good job balancing the public’s interest, private property rights, or here, the risk of mortality.  I suspect that we will see both California and Nevada move to change their laws.  In which ways, and to what outcome, remains to be seen.

Looking ahead, it cannot be ignored that Northern Nevada in particular is largely built in wooded areas.  California’s present sure looks like a preview of Nevada’s future.