PHOENIX β Arizona's workplace safety agency on Wednesday recommended that the state Forestry Division pay a nearly $560,000 fine in the deaths of 19 firefighters.
The citations proposed by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health say forestry officials managing the Yarnell Hill Fire placed the protection of structures and pastureland above firefighter safety.
The proposals also say that downwind crews weren't removed when suppression became ineffective.
The safety agency is presenting the proposals to the state Industrial Commission at a meeting in Phoenix. The commission has the final say on whether the fines are imposed.
The Arizona State Forestry Division oversaw the blaze that trapped the Granite Mountain Hotshots on state land.
A separate report into the circumstances surrounding the June 30 deaths of the firefighters found communications lapses but concluded that proper procedure was followed.
