19 brandweermannen omgekomen in Arizona
YARNELL, Ariz. -
Gusty, hot winds blew an Arizona blaze out of control Sunday in a forest northwest of Phoenix, overtaking and killing 19 members of an elite fire crew in the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 30 years.
Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were forced to deploy their fire shelters - tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and heat - when they were caught near the central Arizona town of Yarnell, state forestry spokesman Art Morrison told The Associated Press.
The flames lit up the night sky in the forest above the town, and smoke from the blaze could be smelled for miles.
A Department of Public Saftey spokesperson says one of their helicopter pilots was the person who discovered the bodies of the firefighters. Officers are working on a way to remove the bodies.
The average age of the men in the hotshot crew was 22-years-old, according to the DPS spokesperson.
The fire started after a lightning strike on Friday and spread to 2,000 acres on Sunday amid triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions.
Officials ordered the evacuations of 50 homes in Model Creek, Double A Bar Ranch and the Buckhorn subdivision, and later Sunday afternoon, the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office expanded the order to include more residents in Yarnell, a town of about 700 residents about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Wendy Carter was one of those evacuated.
"You could see it coming closer and closer and every time the wind would shift, it would start up another Part of it burning," said Carter. "I was scared, I was scared for animals and grandkids. I just knew we had to get out of there."
Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said that the 19 firefighters were a part of the city's fire department.
"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 other wildfires in recent weeks in New Mexico and Arizona, Fraijo said.
"By the time they got there, it was moving very quickly," Fraijo told the AP of Sunday's fire.
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 percent chance that they survive," he said. "It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions."
The National Fire Protection Association had previously listed the deadliest wildland fire involving firefighters as the 1994 Storm King Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colo., which killed 14 firefighters who were overtaken by a sudden explosion of flames.
Morrison said several homes in the community of Glenisle burned on Sunday. He said no other injuries or deaths have been reported from that area.
About 200 firefighters are fighting the wildfire, which has also forced the closure of State Route 89 from mile post 269 to 285.An additional 130 firefighters and more water- and retardant-dropping helicopters and aircraft are on their way.'
Federal help was also being called into to fight the fire, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman Mike Reichling said. The Red Cross has opened two shelters in the area - at Yavapai College in Prescott and at the Wickenburg High School gym.
They say 19 people will take refuge at the Prescott shelter Sunday night.
The Red Cross opened the second shelter at Wickenburg High School because the Highway 89 closure is making it impossible for evacuated residents to get from Yarnell to Prescott.
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.
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, whose district includes Yarnell, shot off a series of tweets Sunday night sending his condolences to those affected. He said his office will remain in contact with emergency responders and would offer help to those who needed it.
Other high profile Arizonans expressed their shock on Twitter, including former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who called it "absolutely devastating news." U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., tweeted that he was "sick with the news."
Governor Jan Brewer released this statement: "This is as dark a day as I can remember, with Arizona suffering the truly unimaginable loss of 19 wildland firefighters. They were battling the Yarnell Fire, near Prescott, when the fast-moving blaze overtook their position.
"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. The risk is well-known to the brave men and women who don their gear and do battle against forest and flame.
"When a tragedy like this strikes, all we can do is offer our eternal gratitude to the fallen, and prayers for the families and friends left behind. God bless them all."
Senator John McCain released this statement: "This evening, the families and loved ones of the brave firefighters who lost their lives battling the Yarnell Hill Fire in Central Arizona - as well as those still fighting the fire - are in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans. This devastating loss is a reminder of the grave risks our firefighters take every day on our behalf in Arizona and in communities across this nation. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten."
Check on loved ones here: www.safeandwell.org
Red Cross Shelter at Wickenburg High School: 1090 S. Vulture Mine Rd., Wickenburg, AZ 85390
Large animal shelter: Hidden Springs Ranch, at 18701 Highway 89, Peeples Valley, AZ 86332.
Small animal shelter: Yavapai College at 1100 E. Sheldon in Prescott.
Full Wildfire coverage here: https://bit.ly/13kfS4c