The 19 firefighters in Arizona happily took this photo together as a keepsake, never imagining it would become their final memorial portrait: 19 heroes lost their lives in a mass tragedy, with only a single lucky survivor. UTTERLY HEARTBREAKING
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called that day “as dark a day as I can remember” and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to commemorate the heroes.
Six years ago on this day, July 1, 2013, the entire United States fell silent before the unspeakable losses following a wildfire in the state of Arizona.
The damage to property, material goods, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest was already utterly terrible, but they also lost brave, courageous firefighters to the ferocious flames.
A group photo of the Hotshots firefighting crew, brothers who stood shoulder to shoulder fighting together against the fire enemy.
On June 28, 2013, a thunderous lightning strike outside the town of Yarnell “ignited” the fire on Yarnell Hill.
The next day, that ferocious fire was “fueled” by strong winds, a prolonged drought, and temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius.
Just like that, the fire monster rapidly grew beyond belief and began to threaten nearby towns.
Upon receiving news of the forest fire, a 20-member firefighting crew named Hotshots living in Prescott, Arizona—about 30km from the town of Yarnell—was mobilized to extinguish the fire.
They specialized in handling the nation’s most severe fire incidents. The United States has 110 such Hotshot crews; each group consists of only 20 people and undergoes special training.
An image of the Hotshot firefighting crew.
On the afternoon of June 30, the strong winds shifted direction, and the leader of the firefighting crew was ordered to retreat and move their vehicles to a safer location.
But the remaining 19 men were unaware that they had been isolated by the fire, with no way out. Helicopters attempted to provide support from above, but the dense smoke obstructed their vision.
Knowing that all their exits were blocked, those firefighters had to resort to their final option: deploying their fire shields and lying face down on the ground. But those shields could not save them.
An hour and a half later, a helicopter was finally able to reach the Hotshots’ location, but it was too late. All 19 firefighters at the scene had perished.
The ferocious fire was 100% contained on July 10. It had burned over 8,000 acres of forest area and caused $900 million in damages.
This was also the most devastating wildfire for American firefighters since the 1933 Griffith Park fire, and the 6th deadliest disaster for American firefighters overall.
The Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park on Yarnell Hill.
In 2014, the state of Arizona purchased 320 acres from the federal government to create a memorial park dedicated to the 19 young firefighters who died in the Yarnell town fire.
In 2016, the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park on Yarnell Hill opened.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer called that day “as dark a day as I can remember” and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to commemorate the heroes.
Mrs. Brewer stated that the fire “erupted from a firestorm,” engulfing the entire group of firefighters.
The Fire Chief of Prescott, Arizona, Dan Fraijo, said: “Our entire crew was lost. We lost 19 wonderful firefighters. It is truly a tragedy.”
