San Diego, San Diego County and the California Department of Forestry

A class action lawsuit is being prepared against the city of San Diego, San Diego County and the California Department of Forestry on behalf of 2,300 residents whose homes or businesses were destroyed or damaged in the October 2003 firestorm. The suit alleges that the defendants mishandled the Cedar fire at it's beginning, when it still could have been contained as a small brush fire. The suit claims that county and city emergency officials were notified of the fire an hour before authorities claim, and that they did not react soon enough to contain it. The suit alleges a "complete disregard and lack of coordination by government officials responsible for organizing and dispatching appropriate firefighting efforts at the incipient stage of the Cedar Creek fire." The suit will be filed unless a resolution can be reached with the governments and the agency.