$5M settlement reached in 2011 Bastrop County wildfire

Four governing entities in Bastrop County have reached a $5 million settlement with a tree-trimming company accused to have caused of the 2011 Complex Fire -- the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.

The suit filed in 2018 on behalf of Bastrop County, the Bastrop school district, the Smithville school district and Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 2 accused Asplundh Tree Expert Company of diverting crews away from a tree-trimming job along Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative power lines it was contracted to clear. Under extreme drought conditions, dry vegetation accumulated around Bluebonnet's easements, and when trees fell on power lines on Sept. 4 2011, fires ignited.

The governments' attorney Joe Grady Tuck argued in the suit that the fire had three origin points. One was along Schwantz Ranch Road just west of Texas 21, where a witness saw a tree that Asplundh was responsible to care for fall on a power line. A second origin point was in Circle D Ranch where two studies -- one by the federal government and one by the Texas A&M Forest Service -- determined that an oak tree fell on a power line.

The third was in Tahitian Village, where attorneys argued that Asplundh neglected the tree that eventually fell on a line when work crews drove past it -- their weakest of the three arguments, Tuck said.

"Frankly nobody, not even us, thought that we could make the case on that," he said.

All told, the Complex Fire burned 34,000 acres, destroyed 1,700 homes and left two people dead over the course of a month. The vast destruction of property resulted in five years of diminished property tax revenue for Bastrop County, the Smithville school district, the Bastrop school district and the Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 2, the suit said.

Attorneys went into mediation looking for more than $20 million from Asplundh to recover lost property tax revenue and costs related to debris removal following the destruction-- 75% of which was paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As per the settlement agreement reached this week, Bastrop County's portion of the award is $3.38 million, the Smithville school district's portion is $350,000, the Bastrop school district's is $1.12 million, and the emergency services district's is $136,000, according to Tuck.

When the suit was filed, Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape said it would use any potential award to lower future property tax rates as a way to return money to the property owners and taxpayers who endured raised property taxes to make up the shortfall. But Pape said this week that the county has already been able to lower the tax rate.

"In the year following the fire, the county raised the tax rate in order to generate enough revenue to supply needed services," Pape said. "We have been able to reduce the tax rate each year since then, so that now we have a much more competitive rate, when compared to our neighboring counties."

After attorney fees and other expenses, the county will net over $2 million from its $3.38 million award to be used at the discretion of the Commissioners Court.

Pape said he wants to save the money in the county's reserve fund, "which strengthens the county's financial position and lowers the interest rate on any bonds we might issue. That will also add to our resilience in preparation for any future natural disasters."

"I believe getting this settlement now is better than waiting five or six years for a trial to work its way through the judicial system," he said.

Tuck said that the suit was filed by a team of attorneys that included Dave Wenholz of Dripping Springs and Banjamin Shabot of Galveston.

"I'm a native here, a seventh generation resident of Bastrop County," Tuck said. "Our county's growing, and it's growing so fast that ... all of the units of government that were my clients are straining to keep up. Five million dollars in the big picture is not a huge amount, but when you're trying to chase expanding expenses due to population growth, every segment of additional income helps."

This was Tuck's fourth suit connected to the Complex Fire. Tuck's firm was involved in a suit for 81 plaintiffs immediately after the fire. He was then retained as local counsel by a consortium of underwriters suing for subrogation under homeowners' insurance policies. A third suit was initiated for over 300 owners of fire damaged property in 2015. All suits have since settled, although settlement amounts have not been made public.

___

(c)2020 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.