A Prescott wildfire lookout who lived through the deadly Yarnell Hill blaze of 2013 signed a book deal at about the same time his sworn testimony was canceled, based on concerns from his therapist that a deposition would jeopardize his treatment for post-traumatic stress.
Former Granite Mountain Hotshots member Brendan McDonough has been working with best-selling author Stephan Talty on a book that, according to online promotional materials, will reveal “the untold story from the lone survivor of the Yarnell Hill Fire.”
McDonough, who has retained a private attorney and an agent, barely escaped flames that killed 19 fellow hotshots June 30, 2013. Reached by phone Monday, he declined to explain why his treatment precluded sworn testimony, but did not prevent participation in a book. He referred calls to his legal representative and his agent.
In an interview last week, Los Angeles-based agent Steve Fisher said a book is in the offing.
“I suggested to Brendan that he should tell his story in book form, and he agreed and I arranged that for him,” Fisher said. The narrative, he added, will focus on events leading “up to and after the fire and his efforts to help firefighter families.”
Fisher said the contract is with Hachette Book Group, and McDonough’s account will be written by Talty. The agreement was arranged several months ago, Fisher said, and the project is in early stages. Fisher would not discuss payment or other details about the deal.
Talty said in an e-mail he will not talk about the book until it is published.
McDonough, though previously interviewed by fire investigators and the media, has never answered questions about the accident under oath. His potential deposition looms in litigation stemming from the catastrophe, especially after recent claims that McDonough overheard a crucial radio transmission between the hotshot crew’s bosses.
According to that account, which is a subject of dispute, McDonough heard Granite Mountain Hotshots supervisor Eric Marsh argue with his deputy, Jesse Steed, shortly before the fatal accident. Marsh purportedly ordered Steed to abandon a safe zone and join him with the crew. According to the account, Steed resisted, saying it was unsafe, but relented when given a direct order. All 19 firefighters were overcome by flames a short time later.
McDonough disclosed the radio transmissions last fall to Darrell Willis, Prescott’s former wildland fires chief, who shared an account of the conversation with City Attorney Jon Paladini. McDonough and Willis subsequently said the narrative related by Paladini was not accurate.
If a dispute between Marsh and Steed occurred, it could change the dynamics for multimillion-dollar legal cases stemming from the fire. Families of the deceased hotshots filed wrongful-death complaints against the Arizona Division of Forestry, which directed suppression efforts. Yarnell property owners also sued. And the Division of Forestry is appealing citations and fines stemming from an investigation by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
As litigation proceeded late last year and early this year, McDonough did not attend two depositions where he was expected to be asked about the radio call.
Two days before a Feb. 26 hearing, according to a legal brief filed by the Division of Forestry, testimony was postponed after McDonough’s therapist said “subjecting him to a deposition would impact ... (his treatment) for post-
traumatic stress disorder.”
McDonough appears to have been involved in the book contract at approximately the same time.
Paladini said Monday it would be inconsistent for McDonough to offer revelations in a book that he didn’t provide during previous inquiries or under oath.
“If the things he is going to put in the book are the things state Forestry want him to testify about, then it is disingenuous,” Paladini said. “Why didn’t we know this a year and a half ago? This is stuff we should already know.”
Paladini said if McDonough, in return for money, is writing about what led up to the deaths of 19 comrades, he can’t easily claim it is too traumatic to discuss.
