SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The family of veteran U.S. Forest Service employee Kathy Shoopman has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Sacramento County against PacifiCorp, an Oregon-based power utility company that attorneys say sparked the deadly McKinney Fire.
The fire, which burned west of Yreka killed four people including Shoopman.
Shoopman was at home in the small community of Klamath River when the fire started July 29, The Mail Tribune reported. The area was hard hit by the fire, with many homes burned.
“She had a home there that she’d stayed in for 50 years, and when she was asked to evacuate that first Friday night, she said she’d be more comfortable staying,” Klamath National Forest Supervisor Rachel Smith said during a firefighter briefing.
Shoopman was an employee with the agency since 1974, working at lookout stations, where people scan the landscape for wildfires. Her post since 1993 was the Buckhorn lookout, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) north of Klamath River.
“She was pretty much a legend in that community, named ‘lookout of the year’ in 2015,” Stokesberry said. “When Kathy called in a smoke, they knew it was spot-on."
Community members said she had been a school teacher before she started working for the U.S. Forest Service.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Friday is part of a lawsuit involving 55 other McKinney Fire survivors and victims' families.
Born in 1948, Shoopman was a gardener, talented artist and animal lover, Klamath National Forest officials said.
The claim for damages against the utility company alleges wrongful death, inverse condemnation, negligence, public and private nuisance, trespassing, violation of public utilities code 2106, violation of public utilities code 13007 and premises liability.
In response to a request for comment Saturday, a spokesperson for PacifiCorp said, "Per company policy, we don't discuss ongoing litigation."
Shoopman's family is being represented by the Fox Law firm, which provided a copy of the lawsuit's complaint.
“We share this sorrow with each and every one of you, and we know that individually, and as the supportive community that we are, we will find many ways to honor Kathy’s life and service and keep her spirit in all of our lives,” Forest Service officials said in a Facebook post announcing Shoopman's death.
Hundreds of people had posted comments on that post expressing condolences, sharing memories of Shoopman and thanking her and other fire personnel for their service.
The McKinney Fire, which burned more than 94 square miles (243 square kilometers), wiped out the scenic hamlet of Klamath River, where about 200 people lived. The flames reduced most of the homes and businesses to ash.
The fire was 95% contained as of Aug. 22.
Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
Across the American West, a 22-year megadrought deepened so much in 2021 that the region is now in the driest spell in at least 1,200 years.
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