"Cal Fire negligently acted as a spotter concerning the operation of decedent's bulldozer," the complaint reads. "Cal Fire's personnel negligently supervised the operation of plaintiff's bulldozer."
Cal Fire declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The agency has yet to release its compete findings into the incident. But its preliminary report found that Reagan died nearly instantly after being ejected from his machine and pinned to the ground on the northwestern edge of the Sobranes Fire four days after it ignited.
His death took place in an area with steep ridges and deep canyons accessible only by a network of narrow dirt roads.
He was not wearing a seat belt at the time, an investigation by California's Division of Occupational and Health (Cal/OSHA) concluded.
The Cal/OSHA report blames the private contractor that employed Reagan, Madera County-based Czirban Concrete Construction, for that oversight as well as several other violations.
Cal Fire's "green sheet" recounts Reagan being briefed by another dozer operator and speaking with firefighters. At one point his machine was blocked by a fire engine, prompting him to drive toward a road that was parallel and above the first one. During that maneuver his machine tipped over down a steep slope.
The complaint was filed on March 1 by Reagan's estate, his widow and two daughters, ages 5 and 2, who live in the Fresno County town of Friant. It is scheduled for a hearing on July 11.
The Soberanes Fire burned more than 132,000 acres last summer and fall. Investigators say it was caused by an illegal campfire. The National Interagency Fire Center says it cost more than $200 million to fight.
