Daniel Lyon, the firefighter who was severely burned in the 2015 Twisp River Fire, has filed a lawsuit against the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative (OCEC), alleging that the co-op’s negligence and recklessness in maintaining trees near powerlines ignited the deadly fire.
The lawsuit, filed May 30 in Okanogan County Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages for Lyon’s physical and mental pain and injuries, disability and loss of earnings.
“The fire that overtook Daniel Lyon and his fellow firefighters was entirely preventable,” the suit asserts.
Lyon, now 27, is the only firefighter to survive the crash and entrapment of a U.S. Forest Service engine that went off the steep, curving road in blinding smoke and flames. Lyon’s three colleagues died when the engine became entrapped in a burnover as they tried to escape the fire.