Rancher seeks fire reparations from county
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Moorpark avocado rancher Mike Plater, whose orchard was damaged by last December's Shekell fire, filed a $9.5-million claim against the county last week. It alleges that various county agencies knowingly permitted MGR Designs International Inc. "to operate their facility in a dangerous condition and failed to properly discharge their duty."

Plater and his attorney would not comment on the claim while they're awaiting a response. But in earlier interviews with the Moorpark Acorn, Plater said that MGR Designs, a manufacturer of home decorating products located across the street from his ranch on Shekell Road, stored flammable chemicals at the site.

"There were combustible materials outside of the building and that caused my loss," he said. "In my opinion it was criminal negligence on the part of the business owner, the property owner and the county not to put these circumstances to bed earlier," Plater said.

Plater sued the owners of MGR Designs in February on the grounds that conditions at their site accelerated the fire that singed most of his orchard, which had about 5,400 avocado trees that yielded 300,000 pounds of fruit at the last harvest.

After the MGR facility was destroyed by the Shekell fire, owners Michelle Bechard and Rony Havive relocated to Oxnard. Defendants in Plater's February lawsuit also include Russell Cochran, Linda Cochran, Robert Lynch and Betty Lynch, who were renting out the former egg-packing plant to MGR.

The fast-moving fire broke out on a windy day in early December near Shekell and Grimes Canyon roads, behind the old Egg City facility. A second fire that began later that day and farther east, near Happy Camp Road and Broadway, merged into the first. The blaze also destroyed five homes and several outbuildings and damaged five more. Other ranches also sustained damage, according to reports released shortly after the incident.

Ventura County employees confirmed there were code violations on the MGR site, but, according to arson investigators, conditions at the property didn't cause the Shekell fire. The investigation concluded that both blazes were caused by downed power line.

Plater's claim is a prerequisite to sue the government and will be reviewed by the county's risk management department, said Noel Klebaum, county counsel.

"They will determine how the claim should be handled and they have 45 days to accept or reject it," he said.

"People make huge claims all time," said Klebaum, giving as an example a $200-million claim that was made against the county following the La Conchita landslide in January 2005.

Some individuals go after the government to recoup their losses because it has deep pockets, he said.

"It's really a process that people in our society engage in every day," Klebaum said.