Freres Fire Response Lawsuit Dismissed

A federal judge has ruled against Freres Lumber Co. and subsidiary Freres Timber of Lyons, Ore., dismissing the company’s lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service (FS) over its response to the Beachie Creek Fire in 2020. Over Labor Day weekend, the fire started on federal land and spread to private timberlands and towns along the North Santiam River east of Salem and caused five deaths and massive damage to timberlands and property.

       The lawsuit, which sought $33 million in damages, alleged the Forest Service was negligent in battling the Beachie Creek Fire in the Willamette National Forest. The complaint said officials did not put their full aerial firefighting arsenal or other resources to work in the first 14 days of the fire before it spread and became part of a complex of fires in the Santiam Canyon fueled by high winds and downed power lines.

The Beachie Creek Fire eventually covered 193,000 acres, mostly in the Willamette National Forest, and destroyed dozens of homes in the towns of Detroit, Gates and Mill City. Rob Freres, President of Freres Engineered Wood (the company changed names in early 2024) and Freres Timber, said the ruling would be appealed and cited the FS’ “misconduct, negligence and failure to act” in responding to the fire and said they had brought the suit to change FS approach to wildfire fighting.

       Freres said the company had lost 7,000 acres of timberland in the fire, worth $30 million, and another $3 million in timber sales that were destroyed.