AZ - Yarnell Hill fire: 19 Firefighters killed

[starry1]

Oh my lord, I am so sorry for everyone involved.

 

[MsFacetious]

Possibly the largest loss of firefighter life since 9/11.

 

[Peliman]

Gotta go. Wish someone would bring all the info over. It's being repeated.

Sorry Dr. Know, I looked for a thread title on the 18 killed but never thought to look in weather.

 

[Peliman]

Just so tragic, this whole site reminds me everyday how short life can be for some. I pray for their families at this time.

 

[MsFacetious]

I know it's been posted... but I wanted to make sure people saw it.

Inside look at Granite Mountain Hotshot crew killed in Yarnell Hill fire

Nineteen firefighters killed in a northern Arizona wildfire Sunday were not new to the dangers of battling these blazes.

In April, they provided an inside look at their daily battles in the hot and dry wilderness to Cronkite News reporter Connor Radnovich.

Phillip Maldonado, a squad leader with the Granite Mountain Hotshots, helps crew members in April learn the finer points of setting up emergency fire shelters.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...rew-killed-in-yarnell-hill-fire#ixzz2Xlwc7pHL

 

[Public_Hysteria]

Rest in peace, such brave souls.

My thoughts are with their friends and family, and all those who have lost their homes, in this horrible tragedy.

May the fires be brought under control SOON.

 

[Dr. Know?]

Sorry Dr. Know, I looked for a thread title on the 18 killed but never thought to look in weather.

I wouldn't have either but had just listened to Tricia's radio show announcing the new thread of Rain's about the weather and took a short cut to post the news. The fire grew so quick as I was posting so I am glad you started a thread. (honestly, I was following two fires and there was another that might be out, I hope)

Thanks Peli! Hope all is going well for you.

 

[FigTree]

I am so sorry to hear this news - just devastating, and so many good men lost.
My prayers to their loved ones, family and friends.
And to those who have lost everything in the fires, my prayers and thoughts are with you.
I hope this monster blaze is under control soon.

 

[LarkBunting]

Go rest high on that mountain, for your work on Earth is done... (Vince Gill)

RIP, heroes.

 

[montana_16]

I am so sorry to hear of this devastating tragedy. It is just heartbreaking. Bless all firefighters. They truly are the what the word hero means.

 

[MsFacetious]

The blaze had tripled in size in just hours Sunday, growing from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres as of 11:30 p.m., according to Incident Commander Mike Reichling.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...enter-set-up-at-yavapai-college#ixzz2XmiAXOsT

 

[Snoods]

Just heard about this on the news and am heartbroken for these brave men and their families. All those young, courageous men. What a staggering loss.

 

[Mahouston69]

My husband flew with Tanker 21. He knew several of the HotShots and smoke jumpers. These guys when not dispatched to a fire somewhere in the country... bbq, nap, watch movies and dine together. I have been to AZ and Redding, CA and FL to fly in for anniversaries and such and met these great men on the Tanker bases. I am devastated and I am angry. The Air support was pulled off this fire because the present air tankers they have flying take days to set up, and cannot always load up on the normal sized tanker bases. This fire was NOT contained. These Hot Shots needed those planes in the air, marking the retardant line to protect them. They were gone, sent to another location and set up. The Aero Union planes my husband flew on as crew chief of 21, are sound, have/had the best safety record in the firefighting business but the Chief of the USFS wants to use military MAFFS so the govt can get/keep funds to fly them but they are not safe. In the time Aero Union planes have been grounded, a C130 crashed because of pilot error in the mountains where they cannot fly slow or low enough. The large DC 10 tankers almost crashed sucking up a tree in the same fashion.Minden, Neptune, have all lost tankers because of their airframe or lack of experience. The DC10 flew briefly on THIS fire but it cannot fly LOW and SLOW enough to drop sufficient retardant that makes it ALL the way down to the ground before it dissapates to supress and make a fire line so these Hot Shots can get out.

I have cried at the loss of life of the firefighters in Colorado, TX, citizens, the momma and her baby in TX. This has to stop. Those six p-3 airplanes need to be back in the air doing their jobs and keeping us and the firefighters safe. There is zero reason why they shouldn't be. The FAA says they are airworthy, safe and best in the USFS arsenal. There WILL be more killed if they don't. I am back on the phones tomorrow to the USFS, the WHITE HOUSE, whoever I can get to listen to me. These firefighters are family. They died needlessly, over politics.

 

[Tulessa]

Heartbreaking. Prayers going up for the families.

 

[Kimster]

A very dear friend of mine's brother-in-law was one of the firefighters that was killed. Their family is devastated! Please pray for them and for all the families who are mourning today! :tears:

 

[mysticrose]

Fire chief ‘devastated’ by deaths of firefighters


THIRTY MILES OUTSIDE PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Dan Fraijo doesn’t know precisely when his men left Prescott, nor what happened to them. But he knows they’re not coming back.

Nineteen firefighters with the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew — an elite wildland firefighting unit sponsored by the Prescott Fire Department and its chief, Fraijo — died near Yarnell, Ariz., on Sunday in the worst wildland firefighting loss in the U.S. since 1933.

“Emotionally? We’re devastated,” Fraijo said at a news conference late Sunday. “We just lost 19 of some of the finest people you’re ever going to meet. Right now we’re in crisis. … Truly, we’re going through a terrible crisis right now.”

http://q13fox.com/2013/07/01/fire-chief-devastated-by-deaths-of-firefighters/#axzz2Xny1YmXO

 

[tricia]

A very dear friend of mine's brother-in-law was one of the firefighters that was killed. Their family is devastated! Please pray for them and for all the families who are mourning today! :tears:

Please pass along my sympathies to your friend Kimster.

This is so tragic. Praying for all the involved.

 

[CuriousGrace]

This is beyond tragic. It is so heartbreaking to know such hardworking and selfless gentlemen put their lives on the line to protect their community with devastating results, I could never imagine how their family and friends feel. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of unimaginable grief and suffering. I feel numb, I am lost for words.

May these true heroes Rest in Peace.

 

[Dr. Know?]

Deadly Yarnell Hill Fire: Crews expect fire to be erratic

snip
On Sunday, 19 firefighters, including 18 from the elite Granite Mountain Hotshots of Prescott, died Sunday fighting an out-of-control wildfire in Yarnell, a tiny Yavapai County town roughly 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

About half of the town’s 500 homes were feared destroyed by the blaze, which began early Friday evening and had spread to 8,374 acres by early Monday. All of Yarnell and the neighboring Peeples Valley were evacuated. Fire crews reported no containment on the fire.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/arizona/free/20130701yarnell-hill-firefighters-die.html?sf14532538=1

 

[MsFacetious]

I can tell you that it had to be the perfect storm in order for this to happen. Their situational awareness and their training is at such a high level that it’s unimaginable that this is even happening.”

The last wildfire to kill more firefighters was in Los Angeles in 1933, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
This is the highest firefighter death toll in one event since the attacks of Sept. 11, according to FEMA.

http://www.today.com/news/wildfire-had-have-been-perfect-storm-kill-19-elite-firefighters-6C10501506