Desert News

[Diane Amberg]

Thank you for the local update...the worst loss of fireservice life in a single incident since 9-11. My stomach still rolls when I think about that awful loss of young life. Terrible

[Warph]

Deadly Arizona blaze nearly contained as
Nevada fire flares up

By David Schwartz and Timothy Pratt

PHOENIX/LAS VEGAS | Fri Jul 5, 2013 10:14pm EDT

PHOENIX/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Even as crews in central Arizona made progress on Friday toward containing the deadliest U.S. wildfire in 80 years, another blaze burned out of control in the mountains northwest of Las Vegas, threatening 400 homes.

The 9,000-acre (3,600-hectare) Nevada blaze, like the Arizona fire that killed 19 firefighters last weekend, was sparked by lightning and fueled by dry conditions, strong winds and high temperatures, said Marty Adell, incident commander for the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Five days after it was ignited on Monday, the Nevada blaze was still completely uncontained, Adell said, although there were no reports of injuries or damaged buildings.

The Nevada fire forced the closure of two state highways on Friday. The night before, the Red Cross set up emergency shelters in Las Vegas and Pahrump, a community about 55 miles to the northwest.

Smoke from the blaze was visible as far away as the Las Vegas strip.



AZ Yarnell Fire:

In Arizona, where residents and emergency crews alike remain in shock over the loss of an entire elite firefighting team last week, the 8,400-acre (3,400-hectare) Yarnell Hill fire has been 90 percent contained, officials said.

The Arizona blaze also destroyed 114 buildings, many of them homes, since it was sparked by lightning on June 28.

U.S. Senator John McCain, who represents Arizona, said on Friday that the federal government should pump more money into clearing flammable brush in fire-prone areas, and expressed concern that the federal automatic spending cuts would affect wildland firefighting programs.

"We need to clear these forests and we need to make it so that the damage done by these fires is not as catastrophic as what we just saw, McCain said at a news conference in Prescott, the home base of the slain firefighters.

Weather forecasts called for cooler temperatures, which should help firefighters working to fully extinguish the blaze, about 70 miles from Phoenix.

"We had a really good day yesterday and things are in place ... to have good success today," deputy incident commander Jerome McDonald told a news conference.

Officials said most of the hundreds of area residents were still unable to return home. McDonald said considerable work must be done before gas and electricity service can be restored.

Nineteen firefighters in a specially trained unit called the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed while battling the blaze. It was the greatest loss of life from a wildfire since 1933, when at least 25 men died in 1933 battling the Griffith Park fire.

A memorial service to honor the 19 firefighters is scheduled for Tuesday at an arena in Prescott Valley, Arizona. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to attend. Officials plan to set up an overflow area to handle the crowd, expected to exceed the arena's seating capacity of nearly 5,000.

The firefighters' bodies will be taken in a procession from the medical examiner's office in Phoenix to Prescott on Sunday, the Prescott Fire Department said.

Federal investigators are probing the reasons for the deaths of the 19 firefighters who were overcome as they tried to battle the fast-moving blaze on rugged terrain.

(Reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix and Timothy Pratt in Las Vegas; Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Sharon Bernstein and Sandra Maler)

[Warph]

Fox cub comes to people for help

[Warph]

Turbyfill is comforted by his wife Shari as he mourns his son Travis Turbyfill on Monday


Tears: A group of girls cry after placing flowers at a make-shift memorial outside the Prescott fire station and right Nancy Myers speaks to her boss to let him know that she won't be able to make it into work



Overwhelmed: Local resident Bob Hoskovec says a prayer as he kneels outside the gate on Monday



Flames: Fire crews can be seen as a wildfire burns homes in the Glenn Ilah area near Yarnell, Arizona Sunday



Tragedy: The crew deployed emergency fire shelters to try to protect them from the blaze



Destroyed: At least 200 homes in Yarnell have burned down as the blaze gained momentum


Death toll: The Yarnell wildfire is the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 30 years


TOUGH BUT KIND: WHO ARE THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS?
Eighteen of the 19 firefighters who lost their lives were part of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting team from Prescott, Arizona.

To join, candidates must complete a boot camp-style test to prove they are in peak physical condition. They have to run 1.5 miles in 10 minutes and 35 seconds, complete 40 sit-ups in 60 seconds, 25 push-ups in 60 seconds, and seven pull-ups.

Members trained by running, hiking, yoga, doing core exercises and weight training.
'Problem solving, teamwork, ability to make decisions in a stressful environment and being nice are the attributes of our crewmembers,' its website read.

After a fire breaks out, they hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and the blaze. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities.

The crew had battled fires in New Mexico and Arizona in recent weeks. The team, which was formed in 2002, is part of the Prescott Fire Department, the oldest in the state.

The deaths mean that Prescott has lost a staggering 20 per cent of its department.

The bodies were taken to Phoenix for autopsies to determine exactly how the firefighters died.

President Obama called the firefighters heroes and highly skilled professionals who 'put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet.'

The highly-skilled team was overtaken by a fast-moving blaze stoked by hot winds on Sunday.

The fire was sparked by a lightning strike on Friday and spread to at least 8,400 acres amid triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions.

The fire has also destroyed an estimated 200 homes, Morrison said. Dry grass near the communities of Yarnell and Glen Isla fed the fast-moving blaze.

It continues to burn, with flames lighting up the night sky in the forest above Yarnell, a town of about 700 residents about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix. The area has not suffered a fire in 40 years.

It was unclear exactly how the crew became trapped. Southwest incident team leader Clay Templin said the team and its commanders were following safety protocols, but it appears the fire's erratic nature simply overwhelmed them.

Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said that the 19 firefighters were a part of the city's fire department. With their deaths, the department lost 20 per cent of its members.

'We grieve for the family. We grieve for the department. We grieve for the city,' he said at a news conference Sunday evening. 'We're devastated. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet.'

Hot shot crews are elite firefighters who often hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires.

They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities.

The crew killed in the blaze had worked on other wildfires in recent weeks in New Mexico and Arizona, Fraijo said.

'By the time they got there, it was moving very quickly,' he said.
He added that the firefighters had to deploy the emergency shelters when 'something drastic' occurred.

'One of the last fail safe methods that a firefighter can do under those conditions is literally to dig as much as they can down and cover themselves with a protective - kinda looks like a foil type - fire-resistant material - with the desire, the hope at least, is that the fire will burn over the top of them and they can survive it,' Fraijo said.

'Under certain conditions there's usually only sometimes a 50 per cent chance that they survive,' he said. 'It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions.'

Nineteen shelters were deployed and some of the firefighters were found inside them, Mike Reichling from the Arizona State Forestry Division told the Arizona Republic. Others were found outside them.

The National Fire Protection Association had previously listed the deadliest wildland fire involving firefighters as the 1994 Storm King Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, which killed 14 firefighters who were overtaken by a sudden explosion of flame.


Mourning: Toby Schultz pauses after laying flowers at the gate of the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew fire station in Prescott, Arizona on Monday morning. Nearly the whole teams was wiped out by the fire



Remembrance: Volunteer citizen patrol officer Seymour Petrovsky stands guard at the gate


Loss: Flowers hang on the fence outside the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew fire station

Engulfed: 19 firefighters died as the wildfire spread near the Arizona town of Yarnell

U.S. wildfire disasters date back more than two centuries and include tragedies like the 1949 Mann Gulch fire near Helena, Montana, that killed 13, or the Rattlesnake blaze four years later that claimed 15 firefighters in Southern California.

'This is as dark a day as I can remember,' Gov. Jan Brewer said in a statement.

'It may be days or longer before an investigation reveals how this tragedy occurred, but the essence we already know in our hearts: fighting fires is dangerous work.'

Brewer said she would travel to the area on Monday. 

Two hundred firefighters were working on the fire Sunday, but several hundred more were expected to arrive Monday when a new fire management team takes over.

The fire has forced the closure of parts of state Route 89. It was zero per cent contained late Sunday.

The Red Cross has opened two shelters in the area - at Yavapai College in Prescott and at the Wickenburg High School gym.

Prescott, which is more than 30 miles northeast of Yarnell, is one of the only cities in the United States that has a hot shot fire crew, Fraijo said.

The unit was established in 2002, and the city also has 75 suppression team members.
Chuck Overmyer and his wife, Ninabill, said they lost their, 1,800-square-foot home in the blaze.

They were helping friends flee when the blaze switched directions and moved toward his property.

They loaded up what belongings they could, including three dogs and a 1930 model hot rod on a trailer. As he looked out his rear view mirror he could see embers on the roof of his garage.

'We knew it was gone,' he said.

He later gathered at the Arrowhead Bar and Grill in nearby Congress along with locals and watched on TV as he saw the fire destroy his house.

'That was when we knew it was really gone,' he said.

He later fielded a phone call from a friend in which he said, 'Lost it all, man. Yep, it's all gone.'

Morrison said the fire grew in intensity when winds began gusting at up to 24mph in the late afternoon. 'You get some winds, and it can take off on you,' he said.



Highly trained: Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (pictured last year) had been fighting wildfire in New Mexico and elsewhere in Arizona in the past few weeks

A photo from April 12, 2012 shows a squad leader with the Granite Mountain Hotshots training crew members on setting up emergency fire shelters outside of Prescott, Arizona


The firefighters deployed the emergency shelters on Sunday but died (picture from April 2012)

[Diane Amberg]

I still get a huge lump in my throat when I look at new photos. We've had our station flags at half mast since last week. Just awful.  Thinking of you all.

[Warph]

Yarnell Fire Video's

Arizona Wild Fire Yarnell Hill Fire-Channel 12-PHX

TRIBUTE: Memories of the 19 Fallen Arizona Fire Fighters

Remains of 19 firefighters killed in Yarnell

Gov. Jan Brewer

Yarnell Fire Photos

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2353353/Arizona-wild-fires-pictures-Shocking-aerial-images-utter-devastation.html

The first aerial pictures have emerged showing the utter devastation of an Arizona town and surrounding forest, where 19 courageous firefighters lost their lives battling wild fires on Sunday.
The sobering images show scores of homes burned to the ground and charred forest in Yarnell following the worst rural firefighting tragedy in 80 years and came as more than 1,000 people turned out to a gym at the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to honor those killed.
The brave men - whose average age was just 27 - were outflanked and engulfed by wind-whipped flames in seconds, before some could scramble into cocoon-like personal shelters, as they were trained to do.











The bodies of the elite firefighting crew who perished were retrieved from the mountain where they died on Monday and later, authorities named each of the victims, many of whom had young families.
As the bodies of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were recovered, it emerged that the team's 20th member survived as he was moving the crew's truck when the flames overcame his comrades.
Helicopters had been unable to reach the highly-trained men as they fought the flames in Yarnell and they could not be saved by their emergency shelters - tent-like structures meant to shield them from flames and heat.
When they were found on Sunday, all 19 shelters were deployed but some of the men's bodies were inside their individual shelters, while others were outside - indicating just how suddenly they were overcome by the flames. Those who did manage to unfurl their foil-lined, heat-resistant tarps and climb inside - that last, desperate line of defense - couldn't be saved from a blaze that grew from 200 acres to about 2,000 in a matter of hours.
'It had to be a perfect storm in order for this to happen,' Prescott Fire Department spokesman Wade Ward told the Today show. 'Their situational awareness and their training was at such a high level that it's unimaginable that this has even happened.'

[Warph]

http://prescottaz.com/

Pictured: An aerial photo shows the site where 19 firefighters were killed in an Arizona wildfire on June 30. The line dug in the center allowed rescuers to reach the fallen firefighters and remove their bodies

Video of Funeral Procession:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5WwRUvg04&feature=player_embedded#at=22

Photos

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2357975/Heroes-memorial-19-fallen-firefighters-springs-Arizona-station-picture-site-died-emerges.html

From Fox News, Funeral procession brings home fallen Arizona 'Hotshot' firefighters:

Nineteen firefighters killed in a wildfire a week ago went home for the last time on Sunday, their bodies traveling in individual white hearses in a somber procession for 125 miles through Arizona cities and towns.

The hourslong caravan began near the state Capitol in Phoenix, went through the town where the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed and ended in the mountain community of Prescott, where they lived and will be laid to rest this week.

Thousands of people from across the state and beyond stood patiently in triple-digit temperatures in Phoenix, lined highways and overpasses along the route, and flooded the roads of downtown Prescott to pay their respect to the 19, whose deaths are the greatest loss of life for firefighters since 9/11.

They included fellow firefighters, the men's family members, complete strangers and residents of Yarnell, the small town they died trying to save.

Those along the procession cried, they saluted, they held their hands over their hearts.

"It's overwhelming to watch this slow procession of 19 hearses," said a tearful Bill Morse, a Flagstaff fire captain who has been stationed in Prescott for a week helping Prescott fire deal with the tragedy. "The ceremonious air of it all. It's heartbreaking."

Many along the route carried American flags and signs that read, "Courageous, selfless, fearless, beloved," "Yarnell remembers" and simply, "Heroes."

Motorcycle escorts, honor guard members, and firefighting trucks accompanied the 19 hearses along the route.

In both Phoenix and Prescott, the procession drove under giant American flags hoisted above the street with the raised ladders of two firefighter trucks. Bagpipes played as crowds were hushed silent by the enormity of the loss.

Inside each hearse were the American flags that were draped over the men's bodies at the site of their deaths in Yarnell. The flags have been with them since and will be until they're buried. After that, the flags will be given to their families.

[Warph]

Westboro Baptist Church says it will picket memorial for Arizona firefighters 

The controversial organization claims it will protest Tuesday's memorial service for the 19 members of the Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots who were killed fighting the massive blaze in Yarnell Hill, Ariz.

By Victoria Taylor / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/westboro-baptist-church-picket-firefighters-memorial-article-1.1391708

(Bikers from all over the Southwest will be there to 'shut down' the Westboro Baptist Church pickets at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott, Tuesday.  We received an email from some of the "Patriot" biker friends to join them.... [sorry guys, no can do].  The way it will be organized by the Bikers, I'll be surprised if those despicable heathens from WBC will show up!... and then again, I hope they do.   )  

[Warph]

HotShot Memorial

An estimated 6,000 firefighters, family members and first responders attended the emotional memorial service of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30. An estimated 2,000 more watched the service outside in the parking lot on jumbo screens.

Out of state fire departments in attendance included New Mexico, Utah, Texas, California and fire departments from almost every large city including New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.  Canadian firefighters from Vancouver, Toronto and Winnipeg also paid tribute.

The firefighters from Phoenix and LA Counties staffed the stations in Prescott to allow the Prescott firefighters to pay tribute to their fallen brothers. Since there was not enough hotels to accommodate all of the firefighters from out of town, an estimated 800 residents of Prescott opened their homes to out of town firefighters attending the memorial.

Sole survivor of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, Brendan McDonough, reads the Hot Shot's prayer at the memorial service for the fallen firefighters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIKkicmqIbc&feature=player_embedded

A memorial is being created at the site of the fatalities which includes a 30 foot flag pole that will constantly be lit. 
More pictures can be seen at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial page on Facebook.

Our prayers are with the friends and family members of the fallen Hotshot crew as well as the Prescott Fire Department.

[Diane Amberg]

We watched it. Brendan was very brave to do what he did.  Very touching.There sure were a lot of pipes and drums from fire companies there. Was there any sign of WBC?