Nevada Revised Statutes 244.3671 – Action to recover expenses incurred in extinguishing wildfire
1. A board of county commissioners may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction against any person, firm, association or agency that is responsible for willfully or negligently causing a wildfire to recover any expenses incurred by the county in extinguishing the wildfire and reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 244.3671
- county: includes Carson City. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.033
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- person: means a natural person, any form of business or social organization and any other nongovernmental legal entity including, but not limited to, a corporation, partnership, association, trust or unincorporated organization. See Nevada Revised Statutes 0.039
2. In determining whether a person, firm, association or agency is responsible for willfully or negligently causing a wildfire, it must be considered, without limitation, whether the person, firm, association or agency failed to exercise reasonable care given:
(a) The forecasted and existing weather conditions;
(b) The conditions of fuel moisture; and
(c) The topography of the area of the wildfire.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 1 and 2, a person, firm, association or agency is immune from liability for the payment of any expenses incurred by the county in extinguishing a wildfire and attorney’s fees and litigation expenses if the person, firm, association or agency immediately notified the nearest fire-fighting agency of the wildfire, was forthright and truthful in responding to questions from the State Forester Firewarden, any fire-fighting agency and any other state or local agency investigating the wildfire, and at least one of the following circumstances applies:
(a) The person, firm, association or agency had permission from a federal, state or local agency to start a fire or conduct a controlled burn and was in compliance with the terms of such permission;
(b) The person, firm, association or agency started a warming fire to protect human life due to dangerous weather conditions; or
(c) The person, firm, association or agency is in the business of raising livestock and started a controlled campfire for the purpose of branding livestock.
4. As used in this section:
(a) ’Fire-fighting agency’ means a public fire department, fire protection district or other agency of this State or a political subdivision of this State, the primary functions of which are to control, extinguish, prevent and suppress fires.
(b) ’Livestock’ has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 569.0085.