MaggieD
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2010
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The 19 firefighters killed Sunday in Arizona were members of an elite crew known for battling the region’s worst fires, including two earlier this season before all but one member of the team died in the deadliest U.S. wildfire for firefighters in decades.
Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said the 19 firefighters, whose names had not been released, were part of the city’s fire department. Before the fire near Yarnell, the group — one of 13 Arizona Hotshot crews — had been profiled in local media last year as they prepared for the fire season and this year as they took on a blaze near Prescott earlier this month...
State forestry spokesman Art Morrison told the Associated Press that the firefighters were forced to deploy their emergency fire shelters — tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and heat — when they were caught in the fire. An estimated 200 homes were also destroyed by the blaze, which fed on dry grass near the communities of Yarnell and Grand Island.
Read more: 19 firefighters killed in Arizona wildfire were part of elite Hotshot crew | Fox News
I can only imagine the terror these guys went through when they realized they were surrounded with nowhere to go. Awful.
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