Upland company, which feds blame for South fire, pays $2.5 million to settle lawsuit

Upland company, which feds blame for South fire, pays $2.5 million to settle lawsuit

An Upland company and its owner paid $2.5 million to the federal government, which charged in a lawsuit that a company excavator created sparks that ignited the 2021 South fire that burned 680 acres in Lytle Creek, federal officials announced on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The court dismissed the lawsuit after Garrett Gentry and his company, G.J. Gentry General Engineering, paid the settlement amount last month. The South fire, which broke out on Aug. 25,…