FOLLOW US

According to the suit, the Interior Department and the BIA gave funding to the Confederated Tribes through two contracts to provide fire protection services on tribal land and manage a forestry program. The tribal corporation owned land in Okanogan County, Washington, that housed the site of an old mill, which contained piles of smoldering leaves and tree limbs that the ranch insisted was the source of the wildfire after high winds swept through the area. The blaze destroyed livestock and ranch machinery, as well as more than 82 miles of fencing and multiple structures, including a pump house, a shed, and a barn, the ranchers said. The BIA argued that the agreements cited in the ranch's complaint did not cover the government's liability for the wildfire. The bureau said the agreements deal only with forest management and firefighting and fire protection services for the town of Nespelem. The ranch's counsel, Richard C. Eymann of Eymann Allison Jones PS, said that these types of Federal Tort Claims Act cases are always difficult "getting past the jurisdictional defenses protecting federal governmental agencies." "The court decision is disappointing given the very substantial losses suffered by the Townsends," Eymann said, adding that the ranch was considering an appeal.   Representatives of the BIA did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Townsend Ranch and its owners are represented by Richard C. Eymann of Eymann Allison Jones PS. The government is represented by Derek T. Taylor and John T. Drake of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington. The case is Townsend Ranch LLC et al. v. U.S., case number 2:23-cv-00170, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.