US Federal Government

On October 25, 2003 Sergio Martinez got lost while hunting deer for the first time in a remote area of the Cleveland National Forest. He started a fire to stay warm, but it quickly spread, becoming the largest wildfire in California state history. It burned 422 square miles, destroyed 2,400 homes and killed 15 people, including a firefighter. A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 2,300 residents whose homes or businesses were destroyed or damaged in the firestorm. The suit alleges the US Federal Government should not have allowed hunting in the Cleveland National Forest because of fire danger and should have prevented the fire, once it began, from spreading to nearby private property.