19 firefighters confirmed dead in Arizona wild fire

Such sad news.

My deepest condolences to their families and communities.

Very sad evening. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these brave individuals.

How horrible! Prayers and thoughts to the friends and family of those brave men.

My heart goes out to them all! I couldn't imagine living in that part of the country right now! To all members on ATS who live in those areas, stay safe! And try to stay cool.

Blessings,
Cirque

I don't know any of them and I don't live near the area but I am crying just the same. That's 19 brave souls that lost their lives in service of others. Tragic.

reply to post by goou111


Tragedy strikes again. My feelings are crushed and my ears were hurt at the news.
May their souls find peace and their families know the love that is being sent their way.
My God this is horrible news.

Brave Brave men indeed.

Saw it on BBC UK news this morning......................so sad, my thoughts are with their family and friends.....RIP

So sad, here's a bit of a fitting song/video clip. Tell me this doesn't bring a tear to your eye.

www.youtube.com...

pity RL didn't end like the clip

I have a friend that is fighting these fires and have been freaking out a bit. He last checked in about 8hrs ago that he was safe down off the fire line and was at base camp. Hope to hear from him again today.

stunningly sad my thoughts and prayers go to them and their families.

Originally posted by jam321
That is a terrible loss of good people with vast experiences. They died doing what they do best. Prayers for their family.

Peace

OP mistated the thread title...fact: 19 firefighters uncounted for. They have NOT been CONFIRMED DEAD.

Nice way to twist your thread OP. Next time don't mix up "confirmed" with "unaccounted for"

No S&F until firefighters confirmed dead.



I pray to those firefighters that are missing that they found shelter somewhere to protect themselves from the dangers of wild fire....and come back all heroes....and star in their own calender photoshoot

reply to post by Skywatcher2011


Really? It's showing you posted this at 9:30 this morning. I'm in a far away state and they are reporting that they are dead. Bad form you.

My thoughts are with the families. What a terrible tragedy.

Originally posted by Skywatcher2011

Originally posted by jam321
That is a terrible loss of good people with vast experiences. They died doing what they do best. Prayers for their family.

Peace

OP mistated the thread title...fact: 19 firefighters uncounted for. They have NOT been CONFIRMED DEAD.

Nice way to twist your thread OP. Next time don't mix up "confirmed" with "unaccounted for"

No S&F until firefighters confirmed dead.

I pray to those firefighters that are missing that they found shelter somewhere to protect themselves from the dangers of wild fire....and come back all heroes....and star in their own calender photoshoot

edit on 1-7-2013 by Skywatcher2011 because: (no reason given)

Uhm you should really read the whole op before commenting

reply to post by goou111

Being a Firefighter myself it is really tough when you loose one of your own....but 19....My prayers will go out to there families.

reply to post by nighthawk1954


I can't even imagine.. Also, thank you for what you do! I feel like first responders are not honored enough by people. I really wish we had a day to honor all first responders, an official date. I respect first responders so much, and it is such a selfless and admirable field to be in!

Originally posted by Olivine
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

edit on 7/1/2013 by Olivine because: (no reason given)

I have fought fire in AZ, around Phoenix, typically light fuels, fire shelters are good protection against fires in light fuels so I would imagine they were in a situation where they could not deploy them quickly enough; steep canyon/ravine where the fire moved quickly or they were in an area where the fuel concentration was heavier & their fire shelers were not enough.
This is really sad.

Here is a video if you are a wildland firefighter & see it for the 1st time you should find yourself fighting back tears.
www.youtube.com...

heres a list of the crew thatdied

www.kshb.com...

Andrew Ashcraft, 29

-- KevinWoyjeck, 21

-- Anthony Rose, 23

-- Eric Marsh, 43

-- Christopher MacKenzie, 30

Robert Caldwell, 23

-- Clayton Whitted , 28

-- ScottNorris, 28

-- Dustin Deford, 24

-- SeanMisner, 26

-- Garret Zuppiger, 27

-- Travis Carter, 31

-- GrantMcKee, 21

-- TravisTurbyfill, 27

-- JesseSteed, 36

-- Wade Parker, 22

-- Joe Thurston, 32

-- William Warneke, 25

-- John Percin, 24

What is a fireman?

He is the guy next door - a man's man with the memory of a little boy. He has never gotten over the excitement of engines and sirens and danger.

He is a guy like you and me with wants and worries and unfulfilled dreams.

Yet he stands taller than most of us.

He is a fireman.

He puts it all on the line when the bell rings.

A fireman is at once the most fortunate and the least fortunate of men.

He is a man who saves lives because he has seen too much death.

He is a gentle man because he has seen the awesome power of violence out of control.

He is responsive to a child's laughter because his arms have held too many small bodies that will never laugh again.

He is a man who appreciates the simple pleasures of life - hot coffee held in numb, unbending fingers - a warm bed for bone and muscle compelled beyond feeling - the camaraderie of brave men - the divine peace and selfless service of a job well done in the name of all men.

He doesn't wear buttons or wave flags or shout obscenities.

When he marches, it is to honor a fallen comrade.

He doesn't preach the brotherhood of man.

He lives it.

Author unknown

Sad, sad day.

reply to post by goou111


May they rest in peace among the stars... They were all quite young the eldest being 43. It is rare to hear of one fire fighter dying. But 19 is alot. Which makes it even worse. Hugs to the families...

Amazing how devoted these firefighters are to try and die to stop this fire, not even a house with people just forrests. Sad and painfull for the families.

Originally posted by LafingWithTears
I would imagine they were in a situation where they could not deploy them quickly enough; steep canyon/ravine where the fire moved quickly or they were in an area where the fuel concentration was heavier & their fire shelers were not enough.

That's exactly what happened. Some of them were in their shelters, some weren't. That's how quickly the fire turned on them.

The elevation of that fire is roughly 4,800ft., in the mountains. Wind gauges are placed so they're easy to monitor and, in this case, if sustained winds are 20mph with 35mph gusts, tack on another 5 for the elevation and mountain terrain. Winds are always stronger in the mountains.

As the crow flies, I live about 30 miles from there and you can see the glow of the fire in the dead of night. It's up to 8,400 acres now, roughly 15 square miles, with 0% containment. 0%, started Saturday, took out 19 of the best fighters there are, leveled half of a town of 700, justified the Pentagon in sending out 3 (I believe) C-130's that can dump 3,000 gallons of water/retardant in one pass............and isn't slowing down.

This is one hell of a fire people.

Those guys need to be honored big time because they were up against some pretty wicked sh!t. My prayers go out to their families. Really. I can't imagine what they're going through right now.


www.fs.fed.us...

www.myfoxphoenix.com...



For The Families