FARMER SUES NEIGHBOR IN SHEKELL FIRE.Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer MOORPARK -- An avocado avocado (ä`vəkä`do, ăv`–), tropical American broad-leaved evergreen tree of the genus Persea of the family Lauraceae (laurel family). farmer who lost trees in December's Shekell Fire is suing the owner of a decorating business in an old Egg City building that went up in flames In Flames is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden founded in 1990. Along with Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates, they pioneered what is now known as melodic death metal. as high winds spread embers em·ber n. 1. A small, glowing piece of coal or wood, as in a dying fire. 2. embers The smoldering coal or ash of a dying fire. through the area. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Ventura County Superior Court, farmer Mike Plater said the flames damaged his property when the MGR Mgr 1. manager 2. monseigneur 3. monsignor Mgr abbr (= Monseigneur, Monsignor) → Mons Mgr abbr (= Monseigneur, Monsignor building burned. The suit names MGR Design International and MGR's landlords, who own the property. The fire broke out early Dec. 3 during high winds, and officials said it was caused by downed power lines. Flames from two locations merged into a 13,600-acre blaze that destroyed five homes and the MGR Design operation. MGR Design operated a decorating business that made dry flower arrangements and potpourri, using oils and other flammable flam·ma·ble adj. Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; inflammable. [From Latin flamm materials, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the lawsuit, which said fire safety requirements had not been met there. Prior to the fire, MGR had been notified of violations related to fire safety, according to the suit, but a co-owner of MGR said his company had spent tens of thousands of dollars cooperating with county officials to obtain a conditional-use permit and was completing all the Ventura County Fire Department Not to be confused with Ventura Fire Department. The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. safety requirements. Embers from the fire were blowing through the area before the MGR Design building caught fire, and the winds continued to spread embers from the MGR building as it burned, firefighters said. Flames spread from MGR to Plater's 50-acre property, destroying thousands of avocado trees, according to the suit. But one of the MGR owners said the fire reached Plater's property before the MGR building was engulfed. "Our businesses burned hours after his place," said Rony Haviv, a co-owner of MGR. "We lost millions of dollars." Daniel E. Engel, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Plater, said the defendants did not conduct themselves responsibly, knowing the risk of fire posed by the business. "The landlords were aware of what was going on," Engel said. "They could have, but took no steps to stop it." eric.leach@dailynews.com (805) 583-7602 |
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