Lawsuit: In-N-Out responsible for 2017 California wildfire
![Drivers wait in the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Alhambra, California, on August 30, 2018. - California's Democratic Party Chairman, Eric Bauman, is calling for a boycott of the Irvine, CA based fast food chain after it donated $25,000 to help California Republicans in November. In addition to this week's donation, In-N-Out donated $30,000 to the GOP in 2017 and 2016. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)](https://images.foxtv.com/static.ktvu.com/www.ktvu.com/content/uploads/2019/11/764/432/GettyImages-1025440910.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Drivers wait in the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Alhambra, California, on August 30, 2018. - California's Democratic Party Chairman, Eric Bauman, is calling for a boycott of the Irvine, CA based fast food chain after it donated
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (AP) — Cal Fire alleges that fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 wildfire in rural Arroyo Grande, according to a lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports that Cal Fire claims the September 2017 wildfire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on In-N-Out property, saying it was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.” The agency also claims the tractor was improperly maintained and the driver allowed the fire to spread.
Cal Fire is seeking roughly $1.2 million from the burger chain to recoup costs.
The fire burned about 245 acres in four days. In-N-Out did not respond to a request from The Tribune.