The mother of Granite Mountain Hotshot Grant McKee who was killed with 18 other members of the Prescott, AZ-based crew in the June 30 Yarnell Hill Fire has filed a notice of claim against Yavapai County, Prescott and the state of Arizona seeking $12 million in damages.

“With the exercise of reasonable care, Grant’s death was preventable,” states the Nov. 14 notice filed by the Scottsdale, AZ law firm of Knapp & Roberts. “In fact, with the exercise of reasonable care, no member of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew would have died on June 30, 2013.

“Grant McKee, and 18 of his fellow crewmembers, died because the City of Prescott, Yavapai County, and the State of Arizona (the “liable public entities”) violated all 10 of the nationally recognized Standard Firefighting Orders.”

The 16-page claim is available here.

The Los Angeles Times is noting that “an extensive and intriguing story in a Phoenix newspaper suggests that there might be more to the deaths of 19 elite firefighters this summer than just a freak storm that whipped the fire near Yarnell, Ariz., around them, cutting off their escape.”

The Times is referring to InvestigativeMEDIA’s feature on the Granite Mountain Hotshots that was also published in the Phoenix New Times.

“There have been angry outcries against anyone who even suggests the possibility of human error in the Yarnell fire,” writes Karin Klein. “Some of the hotshot team’s supporters have said that even if there were shortcomings on the part of the team, they should be kept confidential, imparted only to other firefighters to prevent further harm. That’s ridiculous. Such findings wouldn’t detract from the bravery these men showed in their chosen careers or the grueling work they undertook on the part of the public. They don’t have to be enshrined as perfect human beings to be admired.

The public, which also mourns them and has an interest in preventing future tragedies, has a right to know what happened.”