2011 Bastrop County wildfire: $5M settlement reached in case against tree company

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — A $5 million settlement has been reached after a tree-trimming company was accused of causing the 2011 Complex fire in Bastrop, the most destructive wildfire in Texas history.

Bastrop County, Bastrop ISD, Smithville ISD and Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 2 filed the suit in 2018 against the Asplundh Tree Expert Company for allegedly diverting crews away from a tree-trimming operation along Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative power lines.

Drought conditions caused dry vegetation around the Bluebonnet lines, igniting the fires when trees fell on the power lines on Sept. 4, 2011.

According to our partners at The Austin-American Statesman, the government’s attorney argued the fire had three starting points – along Schwantz Ranch Road west of Texas 21, in Circle D Ranch and Tahitian Village.

The fire killed two people and burned for a month, destroying 34,000 acres and 1,700 homes. The destruction cut off five years of property tax revenue for the county, school districts and emergency services.

Attorneys were seeking more than $20 million from Asplundh, 75% of which was paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), The Statesman reports.

This week’s settlement awards Bastrop County $3.38 million, the Smithville school district $350,000, the Bastrop school district $1.12 million and the emergency services district $136,000, according to the Statesman.

Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape told the Statesman he wants to save the money in the county’s reserve fund, strengthening the county’s financial position to deal with future potential natural disasters.

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