By Terry Hagerty, Staff Writer

A $6 million civil lawsuit against Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and McCoy Tree Surgery stemming from the Feb. 28, 2009 Wilderness Ridge Fire has ended after two days of testimony in Bastrop County’s  335th District Court.

“The case has been resolved,” Bluebonnet spokeperson Will Holford said.

No one involved with the case would comment about whether a monetary settlement was involved.

Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett declined comment on the resolution of the case, replying “No thank you” in a message relayed to the Advertiser by an administrative assistant.  Attorneys and other court officials with knowledge of the case either declined comment or could not be reached by press time.

More than two dozen plaintiffs  had signed on to the suit, alleging faulty power line infrastructure by Bluebonnet and negligence by McCoy and Bluebonnet in maintaining easement vegetation led to the fire.

More than 1,500 acres and 26 homes were destroyed in the blaze.

Testimony

On Thursday, Bluebonnet lineman Tim Grimm told the jury that he came across a large downed tree in a Bluebonnet easement that he said had taken down electrical lines as the tree fell. Photographs that were taken several hours after the fire had started, and showed Grimm cutting up the still-smoking downed tree, were presented to the jury.

“The tree was lying across the right-of-way, and wires were pushed off, into the trees,” Grimm said.

Under further questioning, Grimm said as the falling tree hit the power lines, it created “a tremendous amount of force and an electrical event.”

Bluebonnet attorney Phil Romero termed the fire “a perfect storm” of extreme drought and high winds that catapulted the fire after the tree fell on lines.

On Wednesday during opening arguments, Armi Easterby, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told the jury, “This was a man-made fire because of the choices Bluebonnet made and the shortcuts they took. This was not ‘an act of God.’”

He said Bluebonnet “chose to ignore their own policies on vegetation management,” in easement areas and “ignored the increased risk of fire.” He also claimed Bluebonnet “had the chance to do a proper investigation and follow the evidence,” but they did not.

Romero countered, “Bluebonnet did everything right, down to the type of insulators they used.” He was referring to Bluebonnet’s electric line insulation and rebutting the lawsuit’s claim that poor maintenance contributed to the fire.

Two eyewitnesses to the early stage of the fire were the first to be called to the stand during opening testimony Wednesday.

Jonathan Sommers, who was doing work for the Wilderness Ridge church camp, which borders Bluebonnet’s easement off of Park Road 1C and Alum Creek Road, described what happened around noon the day of the fire.

He said a power line above him suddenly “went slack” and then fell near him in the easement, but did not burn. He also heard what he said sounded like a gunshot further south. After rapidly walking several hundred yards down the easement, he said he saw the fire.

“I saw flames going north and south,” Sommers said, adding the fire had grown to about three-quarters of an acre.

Sommers said he had a clear view of the fire area from a hill rise in the easement area.

“I did not see any trees in the easement at all,” he said.

A former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sommers said he tried to create a fire break in the easement by using his hands and feet to dig and spread dirt, plus pull vegetation out of the path of the flames.

Anthony Ramos, who was also one of the first to approach the fire, said he had gone to the power line area after power went out at the camp and saw the same downed line that Sommers saw.

During questioning by Bluebonnet attorneys, Ramos said that because of the small rises and dips of the easement, and the rapidly spreading fire, he had stopped just before he topped the last rise before the fire area and did not get a clear view of the bottom of the culvert where the fire was located.

“I couldn’t see into the draw when I got near the crest of the hill, the flames were high, about four to five feet and I didn’t get to see what was actually burning,” Ramos said.

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