The state has jumped aboard a lawsuit accusing BNSF Railway and Montana Rail Link of starting a massive wildfire near Paradise in 2023.

The River Road East Fire ignited next to railroad tracks owned by BNSF Railway and leased to Montana Rail Link on Aug. 18, 2023. Buffeted by high winds and drought conditions, the flames swiftly spread, engulfing 17,310 acres and several homes. 

A lawsuit filed in Missoula County District Court accusing the railroads of negligently starting the fire now includes more than 90 plaintiffs, including, most recently, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Judge Jason Marks granted the state agency’s motion to intervene on April 23. 

The state’s arguments in the case mirror the original complaint filed by several Paradise residents in April 2024. While an investigation into the fire’s origins headed by Lolo National Forest remains under review, plaintiffs pointed to a string of circumstantial evidence suggesting a passing railcar sparked the fire. 

Two witnesses reported seeing the River Road East Fire ignite immediately after a train passed along the railroad tracks just south of Paradise. A third person, identified in court documents as M.R., saw the fire while driving near River Road East. 

“According to M.R., a railway crew of several men employed by Montana Rail Link or BNSF were standing near the fire and recording it with their cell phones,” reads the complaint filed by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. “The men did not appear to have fire suppression equipment with them and were not attempting to extinguish the fire.” 

Improperly maintained brakes, burning exhaust, poor track conditions and routine track maintenance all have the potential to cause a fire, especially when conditions are dry. The victims of the fire suggest that one or more of those issues caused a train to throw sparks as it traveled by River Road East, which ignited the wildfire. 

The Daily Inter Lake filed a public records request for all inspections and equipment maintenance audits made for Class II railroads between Missoula and Thompson Falls between 2020 and 2025. The Federal Railroad Administration returned 40 reports, 33 of which were filed in Missoula. Two reports were filed in Arlee, one in Paradise, three in Plains and one in Thompson Falls.    

Inspectors identified 213 defects in the 1,574 cars inspected, including 44 defects related to the braking system, 19 defects related to air vents and 18 defects in the cars’ wheels. Other common defects included loose handholds, missing pins in the couplers that connect train cars to one another and obscured labels on train cars.   

Sparks and other heated materials can land in the vegetation surrounding the railroad tracks and, with enough fuel and oxygen, grow into an uncontrollable blaze.   

Stage I fire restrictions and a high wind warning were both in effect in Sanders County when the River Road East Fire started, a fact the state conservation agency argued railroad employees should have been aware of as BNSF’s website claims the company constantly monitors weather conditions.  

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is seeking “all general and special compensatory damages allowable under the law,” including compensation for the nearly $5.5 million that state spent suppressing the River Road East Fire. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 406-758-4433 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.