Yarnell Hill Fire: Families Sue Arizona Over 2013 Wildfire That Killed 19 Firefighters

Families Sue Over 2013 Wildfire That Killed 19 Firefighters
A fallen firefighter's picture is part of a memorial outside of the Granite Mountain Hotshot fire station in Prescott, Arizona July 1, 2013. Reinforcements poured in Monday to battle a runaway wildfire which quadrupled in size overnight after killing 19 firefighters in one of the worst such incidents in US history. The Yarnell Hill fire -- which killed all but one member of a 20-strong 'hotshot' team -- was the biggest loss of firefighters' lives since the September 11 attacks, and the most from a US wildfire in 80 years. AFP PHOTO / KRISTA KENNELL (Photo credit should read Krista Kennell/AFP/Getty Images)
A fallen firefighter's picture is part of a memorial outside of the Granite Mountain Hotshot fire station in Prescott, Arizona July 1, 2013. Reinforcements poured in Monday to battle a runaway wildfire which quadrupled in size overnight after killing 19 firefighters in one of the worst such incidents in US history. The Yarnell Hill fire -- which killed all but one member of a 20-strong 'hotshot' team -- was the biggest loss of firefighters' lives since the September 11 attacks, and the most from a US wildfire in 80 years. AFP PHOTO / KRISTA KENNELL (Photo credit should read Krista Kennell/AFP/Getty Images)

PHOENIX, June 26 (Reuters) - The families of a dozen of the 19 elite Arizona firefighters killed last year in the nation's worst wildfire in eight decades have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit claiming the state was negligent in its efforts to battle the massive blaze.

The wind-whipped, lightning-caused fire destroyed scores of homes and burned 8,400 acres (1900 hectares) before it was extinguished in an area around the tiny town of Yarnell, northwest of Phoenix. The deadly blaze captured the nation's attention for weeks and marked the greatest loss of life from a U.S. wildfire since 1933.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for the lives lost in the so-called Yarnell Hill Fire and demands answers to what happened to cause all but one of the Granite Mountain hotshots firefighters to be overrun by flames on June 30.

"They want to know what happened to their loved ones and they want to ensure that this tragedy never happens again," Phoenix attorney Patrick McGroder III, who is representing the families in the lawsuit, told Reuters.

Family members also seek a meeting with state fire officials to see what went wrong and with hopes of developing policies, procedures and other tools to change the way fires are currently fought, according to the suit filed late on Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix.

Named as defendants are the state and its forestry division, Yavapai County and the Central Yavapai County Fire District. Also listed are the fire officials who were responsible for managing firefighting efforts in the days leading up to the time when the 19 men were killed.

This is the latest legal action taken in connection with the fallout from the fire, with 162 affected property owners filing a lawsuit this week seeking compensation for their losses.

Owners also said fire officials were to blame for the loss of property and lives in the area, saying that they "failed miserably".

A state official declined to comment on the lawsuit.

(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Eric M. Johnson and Jeremy Laurence)

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Yarnell Hill Fire

Arizona Yarnell Wildfire 2013

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