A county judge has thrown out two lawsuits filed by homeowners whose houses were destroyed in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire. The plaintiffs argued that Arizona and its Forestry Division failed to use ground and air resources to control the fire, .
Maricopa County Superior Court judge Richard Gama issued is opinion on Wednesday, . 鈥淧ublic policy does not support imposition of a duty on the state to protect plaintiffs鈥 property from wildfires,鈥 he wrote in his dismissal.
Craig Knapp, the attorney for the homeowners, told the Republic that the ruling is bad news for property owners in fire zones. 鈥淭he state can now abandon a fire and let the homes go up in smoke with no real legal remedy for the residents,鈥 he said. Knapp also filed a notice of appeal after Gama鈥檚 ruling.
The Yarnell fire destroyed 127 homes in June 2013 and caused an听estimated $17 million in property damage. It also took the lives of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.
*This story has been revised from the version first published on April 30, 2015, because it inadvertently used similar language to what was published in听ABC15.com and AZCentral.com.听国产吃瓜黑料听apologizes for the error and is investigating all previous work of the writer.
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