Cal Fire Sues In-N-Out Burger Chain Over Responsibility For Wildfire

Fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 grass fire in rural Arroyo Grande, a lawsuit filed by Cal Fire in San Luis Obispo Superior Court alleges.

According to the lawsuit, a wildfire sparked Sept. 20, 2017 on a property owned by In-N-Out at 9815 Huasna Road in Arroyo Grande.

The fire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on the property, Cal Fire says in the suit — noting that the property was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.”

According to the lawsuit, chaff built up on the mower deck before being ignited by a hot clutch and then blown off the mower deck, landing in the dry grass below.

It quickly spread to the surrounding vegetation, aided in part by warm and windy temperatures that day.