The Airport fire, accidentally ignited by an Orange County work crew, has sparked about $400 million in liability claims from more than 100 people seeking an array of damages and reimbursement, down to one evacuee’s $3 purchase of peanut M&Ms at an Arco station.
Some of the claimants lost homes or personal belongings. Others sustained burns. Some were trapped by the flames. All were victims of a 23,526-acre fire that began Sept. 9 and burned for 26 days in Orange and Riverside counties after a public works crew used heavy machinery to move boulders in tinder-dry Trabuco Canyon.
The crew had failed to follow department “best practices” and bring a water truck for fire suppression. Some evacuees called that a “terrible error” or “a mistake with horrible consequences.”
Property damage biggest expense
Financially, those consequences are adding up.
Mikhail Trubchik of Laguna Hills filed a claim with the county for $2.3 million for the loss of his secondary residence, which included a main house, a guest house and a detached garage. His property in El Cariso Village, along with the rest of the once-lush Riverside County community, was completely reduced to ash.
REALTED: California’s home insurance crisis: Which Bay Area neighborhoods have lost the most coverage
While some of his neighbors hired attorneys in the early days following the fire, Trubchik said he just wanted to file a “reasonable claim” himself for the damages.
“This wasn’t my primary house, so I didn’t have any losses, per se,” Trubchik said. “I decided just to go to the county (and) file the claim instead of dealing with attorneys, hoping that the county is just going to reimburse and not put up any kind of fights.
“I wouldn’t want to cause any sort of legal additional cost to myself or the county,” he added.
Other victims of the disaster did hire legal counsel. Though some claims have been paid by Orange County, most are expected to lead to lawsuits.
Law firm represents hundreds
Singleton Schreiber, a San Diego-based law firm that specializes in wildfire lawsuits, is representing several hundred people claiming damages from the Airport fire, according to managing partner Gerald Singleton. Singleton said the majority of his clients are homeowners or renters who lost personal property in the fire.
“There were a couple of dozen folks who suffered injuries,” Singleton said. “Some were limited to smoke inhalation, and then others had actual burns. There were a couple of very serious burns but that’s the minority.”
The bulk of the financial damages filed so far against the county is largely made up of two Singleton Schreiber clients, Lake Elsinore residents living in the same house who filed for $150 million each. Other clients of the firm claimed damages of up to $10 million apiece.
Singleton said those figures are just the starting point for negotiations.
“You have to put in a number, and you’re limited to that amount, so, generally, you put in a very high number because it’s the way that you’re required to fill out these forms,” Singleton said.
The nine-figure claimants, Jacquelyn Marie Hunter and Burl Dean James Jr., incurred economic and noneconomic damages, including the loss of personal property, severe burn injuries and emotional distress, according to their claims.
“There were a couple of cases where, unfortunately, people were trapped,” Schreiber said. “Fortunately, the majority of people were able to get out without suffering those types of injuries.”
With 20 years of experience representing people who have lost homes and other property in fires, Schreiber said there are some similarities in what his clients have faced, but each story is no less unique and tragic. Photos, memorabilia and family heirlooms are just a few of the irreplaceable items lost by many.
He added: “You’ve got somebody who all of a sudden has to flee their home, sometimes facing imminent death. Sometimes they’re tragically injured … and then oftentimes they’re left homeless.”
Some lost their homes. Some lost other treasures.
Tim Cason, 53, is among a few claimants seeking damages for vintage automobiles destroyed in the fire.
For five years, the Mission Viejo man worked on restoring a 1971 International Scout at a friend’s lot off the Ortega Highway. He was almost done — all that remained was the final paint job. Then the blaze burned it to a charred husk. Cason has claimed $110,000, which is comparable to what similar restored International Scouts have fetched at auction.
“It’s just a classic American car … a really cool, rare car,” he said. “(But) since my friend lost everything he owned — except what was in a washing machine at his brother’s house — I can’t complain,” Cason said.
High-end lodging
Thousands of people in Orange and Riverside counties who were forced to flee their homes because of mandatory evacuations found themselves competing for available lodging.
A few evacuees are seeking reimbursement for their stays in high-end hotels, including seaside resorts. For the most part, these evacuees — who asked not to be identified for fear of being held in contempt by taxpayers — said they could find no other lodging in the area and weren’t sure at the time they would be eligible for reimbursement. Many have already been paid.
One evacuee said his family was forced to stay three nights at the Hyatt Regency Irvine for $1,724 — or $574 per night — because every other hotel near his Trabuco Canyon home was booked. He said he checked five hotels in the area before landing at the Hyatt Regency.
“I tried to do it less expensive. I didn’t want to spend the money,” said the 69-year-old evacuee. “(I was) totally thinking I was going to eat the cost.”
The man said he already has been reimbursed by the county $2,061 for food and lodging.
He could have asked for more. He received several fliers from law firms in his mailbox saying he could be eligible for damages for things such as emotional trauma. He said he talked with a lawyer but cut him off.
“Dude, come on, I just wanted to be reimbursed for my actual expenses,” he said.
Another evacuee stayed one night for nearly $500 at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa as firefighters and sheriff’s deputies camped out for four days behind her Trabuco Canyon home, she said. She and her husband spent another two nights at a less costly hotel in Carlsbad.
“Our feelings were, even if we have to pay for it, let’s just pay for it,” said the woman. “We didn’t expect to get reimbursed. … It wasn’t like ‘OK great, I’m going to stay at these expensive places.’ “
The couple was familiar with the Dana Point resort — their daughter was married there — and figured if they had to relocate temporarily, it might as well be at some place they liked.
Related Articles
How this California home was retrofitted top to bottom to protect against wildfires — for free
California man sets bush on fire, flees from police and crashes — killing woman, authorities say
Man suspected of setting nine fires across Southern California
Work crew that started a 23,526-acre California wildfire ignored ‘best practices’
Atmospheric river heading into Bay Area, will bring first major storms of winter rainy season
She added that her windows sustained soot damage and need to be replaced, but she’s not going to sue the county over it.
“That’s kind of the choice we made to live where we live.”
Another couple that evacuated from Robinson Ranch was able to stay five nights at various hotels for a total of $994, plus $314 for meals and snacks, including a $6 Frappuccino from Starbucks and two packs of peanut M&Ms. The evacuee said his wife wanted some comfort food.
“If I had a direct out-of-pocket expense as a result of the fire, I filed it,” said the man.
