Fatal Gray Fire Near Medical Lake Triggers 2 Lawsuits

A massive fire that burned 17 square miles of land west of Spokane near Medical Lake has now brought about 2 lawsuits.

Fire which began August 18th burned 326 buildings.

The fire consumed 240 homes and 86 other types of structures before being contained, and two lawsuits point at a power company.

Singleton-Schreiber, a law firm, filed the lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court. The suit, which is on behalf of a property owner, seeks $100,000 in damages. The suit claims Inland Power and Light designed area power lines to be bare, uncovered, and carry very high voltage current.

The suit says the company should have known this design is dangerous in high fire risk areas. The second suit, which represents 44 people, claims witnesses saw an outdoor light that was built by the power company sparking and spitting out what people said was "molten material" just prior to the fire. The light was said to be in the area near where the fire began.

Washington Department of Natural Resources investigators found and took the light as part of their investigation.  DNR officials say it could take months to determine the exact cause of the fire.

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One person died as a result, 86-year-old Carl Grub, who suffered smoke inhalation which the Spokane County Medical Examiner said was "thermal" injuries. He was found near an intersection in Medical Lake not far from the blaze.