Senate Bill No. 725
(By Senators Bailey, Helmick, Facemyer, Plymale, McCabe, Barnes
and White)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §20-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to permitting the Director of the
Division of Forestry to recover costs incurred in fighting
forest fires.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §20-3-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. FORESTS AND WILDLIFE AREAS.
§20-3-11. Recovery of costs incurred in fighting fires; landowners
responsibility to extinguish fires.
The Director of the Division of Forestry shall, in the name of
the state, recover from the person or persons, firms or
corporations whose negligence or whose violation of any provision
of this article caused any fire at any time on grass or forest land, the amount expended by the state for the personal services of
persons especially employed under the provisions of section four of
this article to control, confine, extinguish or suppress such fire,
and the costs associated therewith, including payment for the
personal services rendered by full-time State Department of Natural
Resources Division of Forestry employees, operating costs of state
equipment used and costs related thereto in controlling, confining,
extinguishing or suppressing such fire. Such recovery shall not
bar an action for damages by any other person.
Any such fire which was caused by a trespasser or by a person
who was upon the property without the consent of the owner shall
not be deemed caused by the negligence of the owner; but the owner
shall use all practical means to confine, extinguish or suppress
any such fire on his or her land even though it was caused by any
such person. If he or she fails to do so, after becoming aware of
such fire, the Director of the Division of Forestry shall, in the
name of the state, recover from him or her amounts expended by the
state for the personal services of persons especially employed
under the provisions of section four of this article to control,
confine, extinguish or suppress such fire and the costs associated
therewith, including payment for the personal services rendered by
full-time State department of natural resources Division of
Forestry employees, operating costs of state equipment used and
costs related thereto in controlling, confining, extinguishing or suppressing such fire.
Any time that a landowner, his or her agent or employee is
aware of a fire on the landowner's property, the landowner shall
use all practical means to confine, extinguish or suppress the
fire.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit the Director of
the Division of Forestry to recover costs incurred in fighting
forest fires.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.