The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing citations and penalties against the Arizona State Forestry Division in 19 wildland firefighter deaths on June 30 of this year.
The Industrial Commission of Arizona is scheduled to consider the citations and penalties during a public meeting at 1 p.m. today. The commission has the final say on the recommendations.
The commission released its meeting agenda Tuesday morning that states only that the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health is proposing citations and penalties against the State Forestry Division.
The agenda didn’t mention any fines against the City of Prescott, which employed the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died. At the time, the men were contracted out to work for the State Forestry Division. The commission will not provide any more details on the recommendations and related report until the commission meets to make a decision, a spokesperson said.
The Hotshots died fighting the Yarnell Hill wildfire about 30 miles south of Prescott. The State Forestry Division was in charge of the fire since lightning ignited it on state trust lands. The Forestry Division commissioned a report by outside experts that avoided laying blame directly on any agencies or people. It was released in late September.
From The Daily Courier: https://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=126015