An electric co-op and tree-trimming company are denying any liability for a 2021 fire that claimed the life of a Clark woman.

Cynthia Ruth, 61, was killed by the wildfire that began late on the night of Nov. 15, 2021, near the home she shared with husband, Jerry Ruth.

There have been differing conclusions about how the fire started, but the Clark Volunteer Fire Department found it originated when that night’s violent storm caused a Beartooth Electric Cooperative power line to connect with a nearby tree branch.

Last month, Jerry Ruth filed suit in Wyoming’s U.S. District Court against Beartooth and Asplundh Tree Expert, a Pennsylvania-based firm that had trimmed branches around the co-op’s power lines months before the fire.

Jerry Ruth contends that negligence on the part of the co-op and Asplundh led to his wife’s death. A portion of his complaint says the companies “were negligent in their failure to exercise reasonable care in the distribution, operation, inspection, trimming, and/or maintenance of Beartooth’s power lines, easements, and rights-of-way.”

But in responses filed this month, the electrical co-op and tree trimming firm disputed being at fault.

“Ms. Ruth’s tragic death was caused by extreme forces of nature and circumstances sometimes referred to as an ‘Act of God,’ over which Defendant had no control, specifically weather conditions, including hurricane force winds in excess of 140 mph, that caused the spread of the Clark Fire,” Beartooth Electric wrote in one portion of its answer.

Asplundh similarly described the woman’s death as being caused “by an uncontrollable force/Act of God which Asplundh did not control and could not predict.”

The events “were an unavoidable accident, were unintentional and occurred without any negligence, want of case, default or any other breach of duty on the part of Asplundh,” the company added. Throughout its Dec. 6 answer, Asplundh repeatedly “denies any inference or suggestion of fault or wrongdoing.”

The companies also do not concede that the power line and tree branch started the fire. The co-op says in its filing that, “the Clark Fire may have been caused by third parties not yet known.” At a January meeting in Clark, Beartooth Electric General Manager Kevin Owens suggested an ash bucket found in the area could have started the blaze.

Beartooth did agree with Jerry Ruth that the tree limb hit by the power line “should have been trimmed” by Asplundh and that the company didn’t trim the tree the way it was supposed to under a May 2021 contract. Jerry Ruth says that under industry standards, Wyoming law and the contract, “the tree should have been trimmed to a distance that would have prevented its contact with Beartooth’s powerline.”

Jerry Ruth says the Red Lodge-based co-op was negligent in its oversight of Asplundh’s trimming in Clark, but Beartooth disputes that it was required to inspect the company’s work. If an improperly trimmed branch was the cause of the fire, “Asplundh bears sole responsibility for any and all damages resulting from its negligence,” the co-op says.

Both companies contend in their affirmative defenses that fault could lie with other parties, including Cynthia Ruth. Beartooth specifically alleges that the resident would have lived if she’d stayed in her home, asserting that she “made several decisions during the evacuation of her residence that put her in harm’s way and resulted in her death.”

Like other area residents, Cynthia Ruth had been advised to evacuate and she was trying to flee the advancing flames when she became trapped, the complaint says. She succumbed to smoke and heat inhalation not far from the couple’s home on Louis L’Amour Lane. Pushed by the howling winds, the fire spread rapidly across roughly 300 acres, requiring the Clark Volunteer Fire Department to seek assistance from their counterparts in Powell, Cody and Belfry. In addition to taking Cynthia Ruth’s life, the fire destroyed more than $1 million worth of property, including two homes and 11 other structures.

The Ruths were married for 38 years and Jerry Ruth says in his complaint that he “lost and will continue to lose the love, care, comfort, companionship, society, advice and assistance that Cindy provided him throughout her life.”

While disputing that the co-op is at fault, Beartooth offered in its answer that “Mr. Ruth and other family members must certainly grieve over the tragic death of Ms. Ruth.”

A trial has not yet been scheduled.