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SALT LAKE CITY — The sister of a man who died in a devastating Sanpete County wildfire three years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Rocky Mountain Power.
Attorneys for Patricia A. Martin claim the company failed to fix a safety violation that left a transmission line too close to a power pole that caught fire when the line arced or touched it.
Flames and smoke rapidly spread to the Elk Ridge Ranches subdivision where James Martin lived, overtaking him before he could escape, according to the suit filed in federal court.
The Wood Hollow Fire, which started June 23, 2012, consumed 47,400 acres and destroyed 160 structures, including 52 homes.
Martin, 60, who ran a security company, had parked his trailer on a friend’s vacant lot in the Elk Ridge development in the wooded hills near the tiny town of Indianola in northern Sanpete County a few weeks before the fire started. He was apparently trying to escape in his car when the flames overtook him on June 26, 2012.
The state fire marshal's office concluded wind likely caused the high-voltage power line to come too close to the top of another power pole, sparking a grass fire at its base. Investigators determined the ground wire wasn't designed to absorb the powerful arc and wouldn't have stopped the surge from igniting dry brush.
Faults in the power lines likely occurred before the blaze broke out and Rocky Mountain was aware of them, according to the lawsuit.
"Nonetheless, even though RMP knew of the clearance violation and the resulting unsafe condition long before the fire, RMP chose not to bring the lines into compliance with either industry or its own safety standards prior to the fire," the suit says.
A Rocky Mountain Power spokesman said the company has not seen the lawsuit and declined comment until reviewing it.
In September 2012, more than 100 property owners sued the utility for negligence as a result of the fire.
