The Mormon Church is suing a Las Vegas contractor over a 2010 wildfire that damaged its recreational property in Moapa.
The fire, which was July 1, 2010, on State Route 168 about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, destroyed more than 15 buildings, including 10 homes, fire officials said at the time.
The Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the business arm of the Mormon Church, filed suit in Clark County District Court last week against Soil-Tech Inc.
The suit says Soil-Tech had been hired to clear dead or dry brush and other vegetation from the desert terrain surrounding the church’s Warm Springs Ranch property in Moapa.
The crews had been hired by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to trim palm trees and clear brush on authority property.
The fire started when Soil-Tech crews were operating a wood-chipper "in a dry and hazardous wooded area" and their truck got stuck, the lawsuit says.
Workers tried to free the vehicle by revving the motor and moving it back and forth, the suit says. The undercarriage components of the truck came into contact with dead and dry foliage and debris and the fire started, the suit says.
The fire spread and ultimately "consumed more than 100 acres including the valuable vegetation, structures, equipment, items and infrastructure" on the church’s Warm Springs Ranch property, the lawsuit says.
The 75-acre ranch was acquired around 1978 and was used for recreation involving church families and other groups, the suit says.
Church property destroyed or damaged included a 6,500-square-foot mansion house, a maintenance garage, a storage shed, two manufactured homes occupied by the property caretakers, two large swimming pools, playground equipment, numerous pieces of furniture, equipment and inventory, and hundreds of trees, the suit says.
The church says in the lawsuit it sustained unspecified financial damages as it had to hire experts for cleanup and remediation efforts and lost rental and fee income from the property.
The lawsuit alleges negligence and seeks unspecified damages.
Soil-Tech said in a statement Tuesday it was researching the church's claims and would address them.
"Our team at Soil-Tech was deeply affected by this incident. We take our work and our commitment to work safety very seriously, and this was an unfortunate accident which affected many around our community," the company said. "Soil-Tech is known for our commitment to protecting and preserving the environment. In over 20 years of business in the Las Vegas Valley, this is the first incident in which our work safety has been called into question. We take our reputation and our relationships within the community very seriously. We have been proud stewards of the Las Vegas Valley for over 20 years and we are dedicated to carry this tradition into the future."