19 firefighters confirmed dead in Arizona wild fire

hello

I just saw this story pop up

Up to 19 firefighters are missing after battling a wildfire in Arizona .

www.cnn.com...

A group of firefighters battling a wildfire in Arizona were unaccounted for Sunday night, an official with the Arizona State Forestry Division said

It says one from the group has been found but still 19 missing..

They were fighting the Yarnell Hill fire northwest of Phoenix

This does not sound good I hope they are all found ok


eta
19 confirmed dead
www.myfoxphoenix.com...

Prescott Fire Department confirmed 19 firefighters have died while battling the Yarnell Hill fire on Sunday night. They're part of the Prescott Granite Mountain Hot Shots.

The wildfire was likely caused by a lightning strike Saturday night.

The Yarnell Hill fire, about 35 miles southwest of Prescott, has burned about 1,300 acres and forced the evacuation of 50 homes.

just tragic
eta pic I found on google
Prescott Granite Mountain Hot Shots



My heart goes out to there families

This is terrible news. Thoughts are with everyone in Arizona (and California).

Here's a feel good story about the crew
firechief.wordpress.com...

When the Prescott Fire Department’s Granite Mountain wildland firefighting crew members found out that they had become the first municipal Hotshot crew in the nation, they took a moment to tear the little “t” off their rig and then immediately set off on a rugged hike to the fire line in the heart of California’s Klamath National Forest.

That “t” stood for “trainee,” a label they had worn for two years while working hard to earn the elite title of Type I Interagency Hotshot Crew.

This season alone, they responded to 13 wildfires in four states while also helping Prescott residents create wildfire-defensible space on 95 acres around 12 homes. And they spent 2,000 hours in the classroom.

By the time they heard the big news last month via a call from the home department, they had been training for five years and waiting 3.5 months to hear whether the federal government had approved their request for certification

reply to post by goou111


They're brave and amazing people. I'm really sorry to hear this.

reply to post by Archie


yeah this is the most depressing thing I have heard in a while..

reply to post by goou111


Up to 19 firefighters are missing after battling a wildfire in Arizona .



Like School Teachers and Nurses, they work in a field that is under appreciated and under paid, yet a necessity for any society.


Just another symptom of the system...

We just saw them the other day in Wyoming. We had stopped for a little while at the Little America truck stop, and when we were walking into the store I commented on their trucks being parked there, and had to explain to my other half what they were. A couple of them were in the store at the snackbar.

My thoughts and good wishes are with these souls tonight. My thoughts to their families, please take comfort in knowing they lost their lives doing what they loved. May we all be that fortunate.

It has been a difficult year for firefighters and first responders and we are only half through. My thoughts and prayers for the family and community.

Tragic, Tragic event. I am about 60 miles East of there and was watching the fire closely. I am saddened to hear of their deaths.

There were 64 Firefighter deaths in all of 2012 so losing 19 in one incident is insane.

Regardless of your political views, whether you believe in aliens, crop circles, Nibaru or argue that Elvis is still alive somewhere.

It doesn't matter to these guys, they always run into fires and dangerous situations to pull our butts to safety even when it means their own lives are in jeopardy.

That is a terrible loss of good people with vast experiences. They died doing what they do best. Prayers for their family.

Peace

Oh so very very sad. True heros. Prayers for their families.

reply to post by goou111




I'm in Phoenix and they broke in on the local fox channel to announce this tragedy. It's insane that so many died....breaks my heart.

Now they're saying that 200 homes have burned, I know the homes can be replaced but it's also sad.

they said on the news that a helicopter pilot saw them surrounded by fire.....I am so sorry for their families

I actually passed by the fire today on I-40. From our point of view, it looked like a forest fire; my condolences to the people in Prescott and surrounding areas who were affected by this tragedy. I snapped some pictures from my phone, posted below. I also have some on my sister's digital camera that are higher quality; if I get the images uploaded soon, I will include those, as well.

The news just said that 22 other firefighters were injured and eight are in the hospital....I'm near tears.

(not sure how accurate the info. is, news is coming in pretty quickly.)

This is heartbreaking and will shake the wildland firefighting community to it's core.
To lose almost an entire hotshot crew is unbearable.

My thoughts go out to the families and community.

ETA: They deployed their fire shelters.
I remember learning during my Type-II hand crew certification, that you know you're screwed if you have to use it.

The IC on this fire must feel awful...from what I can find this is the worst multiple firefighter loss on a wildfire since 1933. source

I saw this pop up on my phone earlier and am glad someone gave it a thread this evening. I did this work for two summers and its amazing how fast a tree can go up and take the oxygen right out of the air. Don't even see it coming and that's with a fire not as nearly as fierce as this.

I imagine with the weird weather we will see lots of fires this season. Stay safe firefighters. And of course - prayers to their friends and loved ones.