The Colorado Attorney General’s Office on Friday confirmed that the state has paid all the claims submitted by victims of last year’s Lower North Fork fire.
The fire, which started March 26, 2012, as a state-ignited prescribed burn, killed three people, destroyed 23 homes and charred more than 1,400 acres in southern Jefferson County.
“All of the claimants who went before the State Claims Board have received payment,” AG spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler said. “The State Claims Board welcomes additional claimants coming forward. However, there are no additional claims pending before the board at this time.”
However, the $2.8 million cap the Colorado General Assembly set on payments — an increase over the original limit of $600,000 per incident — has been met, Tyler said, and additional legislation will be required to pay more claims.
The 11 checks totaling more than $3 million, mostly cut in July, ranged from $70,000 to an individual to $768,910.81 to the Intermountain Rural Electric Association
.
The claims board made recommendations on each claim. The AG has certified the terms of state statute had been met. The state controller issued the checks.
These claimants, who waived their rights to litigation, don’t represent all the victims or claims pending in other venues, however. Additional claims against the state collectively ask for tens of millions of dollars in compensation.
