RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Two more settlements in a lawsuit arising from a 2013 prescribed burn that became a wildfire on the South Dakota and North Dakota border have taken the cost to the federal government to nearly $900,000.
The latest settlements were filed last week in federal court, bringing the number of resolved claims to nine, the Rapid City Journal reported. The deals were for $170,000 to the Diamond Acre Trust and $7,500 to Jamie Herman.
More settlements are likely. The suit remains open for plaintiffs Eric and Laurie Casper, Robert and Connie Hermann, Ryan Hermann, and the Grand River Cooperative Grazing Association, all of whom were not able to agree terms during a settlement conference last month.
The U.S. Forest Service began the Pautre fire as a prescribed burn in April 2013 on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands in the Lemmon, South Dakota area. Prescribed burns are used to control grass and weeds, and to eliminate dry or dead vegetation that could fuel large wildfires.
The burn was intended to cover 210 acres (84 hectares) of federally owned land, according to a Forest Service report. Wind blew the flames beyond the intended area, and it became a wildfire that burned for several days, destroying grass that ranchers depended on for their cattle, crops and fences.
The fire burned 3,519 acres (1,424 hectares) of federally owned land and 7,160 acres (2,897 hectares) of privately owned land, for a total of nearly 17 square miles (44 square kilometers), according to court documents.
Affected landowners filed multiple lawsuits in 2015 that were eventually consolidated into one case. The lawsuits said the Forest Service made mistakes in its preparation and execution of the prescribed burn, including failing to heed vital weather information.
The government has not admitted any liability or fault in the nine settlement agreements that have been filed so far.
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