The Arizona Division of Forestry has been fined $559,000 for workplace violations during the Yarnell Hill fire that left 19 elite firefighters dead
Nineteen elite Hotshot firefighters died needlessly in June, Arizona safety officials said Wednesday in a damning report that accused state forestry officials of valuing land over firefighters' safety.
The report, by the state Industrial Commission, is a blunt repudiation of the state Forestry Division's review in September, which assigned no blame but said the firefighters and their supervisor failed to "communicate effectively" as they were battling the catastrophic Yarnell Hill fire south of Prescott.
The commission voted unanimously to penalize the Forestry Division to the tune of $559,000, almost all of which would go directly to the families of the fallen firefighters.
Even though forestry commanders knew the crew's efforts were ineffective, the firefighters "were not promptly removed from exposure to smoke inhalation, burns, and death," it said.
The Industrial Commission said communications problems did play a role, but it said those problems arose because key staff members failed to show up for a morning planning meeting and because the Hotshot crew wasn't provided with adequate maps or a second escape route.
"There are lessons that can be learned from this horrible tragedy and we owe it to the firefighters who died, and to those that risked their lives fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire, to do so," Bill Warren, director of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said in a written statement.
Nineteen firefighters - all members of an elite response team - were killed battling a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona, marking the deadliest single incident for firefighters since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The result was critical confusion as commanders and support staff struggled to figure out where the firefighters were and how bad their situation was, the report said.
In fact, the Industrial Commission charged, the Forestry Division was squarely to blame, saying it "unnecessarily and unreasonably" put the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew members in a pointlessly hazardous situation because it "prioritized protection of non-defensible structures and pastureland over firefighter safety."
"The Industrial Commission said that was a willful workplace safety violation by the Forestry Division in its capacity as the firefighters' employer. "
The report, by the state Industrial Commission, is a blunt repudiation of the state Forestry Division's review in September, which assigned no blame but said the firefighters and their supervisor failed to "communicate effectively" as they were battling the catastrophic Yarnell Hill fire south of Prescott.
The commission voted unanimously to penalize the Forestry Division to the tune of $559,000, almost all of which would go directly to the families of the fallen firefighters.
Even though forestry commanders knew the crew's efforts were ineffective, the firefighters "were not promptly removed from exposure to smoke inhalation, burns, and death," it said.
The Industrial Commission said communications problems did play a role, but it said those problems arose because key staff members failed to show up for a morning planning meeting and because the Hotshot crew wasn't provided with adequate maps or a second escape route.
"There are lessons that can be learned from this horrible tragedy and we owe it to the firefighters who died, and to those that risked their lives fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire, to do so," Bill Warren, director of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said in a written statement.
Nineteen firefighters - all members of an elite response team - were killed battling a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona, marking the deadliest single incident for firefighters since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The result was critical confusion as commanders and support staff struggled to figure out where the firefighters were and how bad their situation was, the report said.
In fact, the Industrial Commission charged, the Forestry Division was squarely to blame, saying it "unnecessarily and unreasonably" put the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew members in a pointlessly hazardous situation because it "prioritized protection of non-defensible structures and pastureland over firefighter safety."
"The Industrial Commission said that was a willful workplace safety violation by the Forestry Division in its capacity as the firefighters' employer. "
Yarnell Hill Fire Documentation
News Releases:
- State Forester Releases Yarnell Hill Accident Investigation Report - 9/28/2013
- Media Advisory: Serious Accident Investigation Report - 9/24/2013
- Yarnell Hill News Release - 7/15/2013
- Division Response to Inquiries - 7/30/2013
Serious Accident Investigation Report:
(Report documents are currently available on multiple sites)
- The Arizona State Forestry Division
- Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
- Yarnell Hill Report Website
Event Summary:
- Initial Synopsis of Resources Deployed (revised 7/18/2013)
- Map with current closure area
Dispatch Logs:
- Yarnell Hill Dispatch Log - 7/5/2013
- Yarnell Hill Aircraft Dispatch Log - 7/5/2013
- Yarnell Hill Support Dispatch Log - 7/5/2013
Spot Weather Forecasts:
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 062813.2212
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 062913.0730
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 062913.1652
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 062913.2033
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 063013.0945
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 063013.2159
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 070113.0946
- Yarnell Hill Spot Weather Forecast 070113.1813
ICS Forms 209:
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Initial) 062913
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 063013--(see report finalized just after midnight and posted on 7/01)
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070113.0007
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070113.2145
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070213
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070313
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070413
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070513
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070613
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070713
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070813
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 070913
- Yarnell Hill ICS Form 209 (Update) 071013--This is last ICS 209 written
Resource Orders:
- Yarnell Hill Equipment and Crew Resources Report - 7/13/2013
- Yarnell Hill Overhead Resources Report - 7/3/2013
- Yarnell Hill Aircraft Resources Report - 7/11/2013
Incident Management Team:
Investigation Team:
Incident Action Plans:
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0629--IAP not written
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0630--IAP not written
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0701--Day
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0701--Night
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0702
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0703
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0704
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0705
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0706
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0707
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0708
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0709
- Yarnell Hill IAP 0710--this is the last IAP
Incident Action Plan Maps:
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/01
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/02
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/03
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/04
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/05
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/06
- Yarnell Hill IAP Map 07/07 - this is the last IAP Map
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