KGUN 9NewsStatewide News

Actions

Suit seeks radio recordings from Yarnell fire that killed 19

Gavel shot
Posted at 9:03 AM, Feb 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-15 11:03:56-05

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — A former fire crew superintendent has argued in a lawsuit that radio recordings could reportedly shed light on a fatal wildfire in Arizona that killed 19 Prescott hotshot crew members.

The lawsuit seeks aircraft radio transmission recordings from the 2013 wildfire in Yarnell.

The legal dispute is over whether the U.S. Department of Agriculture adequately searched for the documents that were requested in a 2016 Freedom of Information Act request.

The Daily Courier reported Thursday that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments at a hearing in Phoenix.

The Department of Agriculture says the information had already been made public.