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19 elite firefighters dead in raging Arizona wildfire
By Nadin Abbott
June 30,2013 (San Diego)—A wildfire has resulted in a tragedy for Arizona firefighters and the nation, wiping out an entire Hotshot crew. An Ariziona state forestry official confirms that 19 firefighters, including 18 members of the elite Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed in the line of duty today, fighting a fast-moving brush fire that leveled 250 homes in Yarnell. The unit’s only surviving member is reportedly hospitalized with burns. http://www.wivb.com/dpps/news/nation/18-firefighters-unaccounted-for-bat...
These firefighters are the elite of the elite in firefighting circles, among the best-trained firefighters in the country. Prescott is the first municipal department in the United States to gain the prestigious designation of a Hot Shot crew. It is the city with the oldest fire department in that State as well.
Hotshot crews serve mostly in the U.S. Forestry Department, though here in San Diego, the Sycuan reservation has a crew that has achieved this level of certification. http://www.kumeyaay.info/golden_eagles_hotshots/
Cal-Fire also has Hot Shot crews across the state. The job of Hotshots is to take over the most dangerous part of a fire line, and help to fight the fire, with hand tools, and a lot of guts.
According to Prescott’s Daily Courier, in an article published in 2008, the crew trained for five years to earn the certification. The Superintendent, Eric Marsh also told to the Courier "It's pretty much a job for the young at heart - and slightly demented."http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=60281
While we all wait for more information, and some reports are quoting even higher casualties, we would like to offer our condolences to the families of those killed, as well as firefighters who will have to bury their own and our local fire departments who mourn the loss of their colleagues. A memorial page has been set up on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/InMemoryOfPrescottFirefightersLost6302013
Firefighters far and near will feel this in the gut; as a former emergency responder and wildfire reporter for ECM I have also been hard-hit by this news (if I may editorialize for a moment). Death of this highly trained force of firefighters drives home that this could happen to anyone working at a major wildfire.
Suffice it to say, this should emphasize how dangerous conditions at a fire line can be. From unconfirmed reports, (and there will be an investigation), a fast wind shift did not give time for these experienced and elite firefighters to get out of the way.
This should also be a reminder to all who live in the backcountry that when told it’s time to evacuate, it’s time to go. Don’t risk your lives—or the lives of firefighters who risk their safety to protect communities and people.
Update July 1, 2013: A memorial page has been set up on Facebook to honor the fallen firefighters.
The Outer Jamul Fire Safe Council has posted the following message, along with a list of those lost:
For the most part, they were very young men out there on the front lines who were specialists in their craft. They left us way too soon. "Fire officials said the young men fell victim to a highly volatile mix of erratic winds gusting to gale-force intensity, low humidity, a sweltering heat wave and thick, drought-parched brush that had not burned in some 40 years." See their names below.
A very difficult task to post the following and we do so with unbearably heavy hearts:
OUR HEROES LOST:
Ashcraft, Andrew - Age: 29
Caldwell, Robert - Age: 23
Carter, Travis - Age: 31
Deford, Dustin - Age: 24
MacKenzie, Christopher - Age: 30
Marsh, Eric - Age: 43
McKee, Grant - Age: 21
Misner, Sean - Age: 26
Norris, Scott - Age: 28
Parker, Wade - Age: 22
Percin, John - Age: 24
Rose, Anthony - Age: 23
Steed, Jesse - Age: 36
Thurston, Joe - Age: 32
Turbyfill, Travis - Age: 27
Warneke, William - Age: 25
Whitted, Clayton - Age: 28
Woyjeck, Kevin - Age: 21
Zuppiger, Garret - Age: 27
May God comfort their families and friends.
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