Marine Veterans Among 19 Firefighters Killed Saving Community, Fighting Wildfire + Video

During the summer months in Arizona, fires are an ordinary occurrence. But the bravery shown by the Hotshot crew, 19 men who gave their lives saving the small community of Yarnell on June 30, was anything but commonplace.

The Brave Few

It Was Sunday

Sunday was normally a day off for the Granite Mountain Hotshots, but a wildfire blazing outside of Yarnell that day had grown enough to put an end to any weekend plans. After a morning run at six, the men said goodbye to their kids, kissed their wives and donned their protective gear one final time to battle the 2,000-acre Yarnell Hill wildfire.

By the time the 20 members of the crew arrived on scene around 9 a.m., the fire was reaching abnormal temperatures for the time of day. But, the Hotshots were well prepared and put their training into action. There was no doubt in any of the leadership’s minds about the safety of the team. They knew what had to be done and got to work.

Six hours later though, and the fire behavior was beyond extreme. At this point, Prescott Fire Department Division Chief Darrell Willis, who was with a crew at a different spot on the fire, tuned in to the Granite Mountain radio frequency to check on them.

With the blaze growing, he listened to the Hotshots play-by-play crackle through the radio speakers.

He learned they were moving out of their location and into a safe zone, also known as, “The Black.” Shortly afterward, he learned they were being out-flanked by the roaring flames and it was coming back on their position in the black. Their plan was to cut a safety zone, burn out around themselves and deploy their shelters.

With the Hotshots safety uncertain, Willis’ crew met its own challenges — a significant advancement of the fire at their location made him shift his focus to his own crew. While dealing with his own oncoming blaze, Willis received a phone call alerting his attention back to the Granite Mountain crew. Willis’ crew was in a tight spot, but he knew the Granite Mountain Hotshots were up against even more. He handed over command of his division to his subordinate and moved around to the other side of the fire where the operations chief for the Granite Mountain crew was located.

Once there, Willis made multiple unsuccessful calls to the Hotshots. His thoughts began to run wild. He had full confidence in the leadership of crew captain Jesse Steed and the rest of the 20-man team, but his calls remained unanswered.

continue article at Marines Blog:

http://marines.dodlive.mil/2013/07/25/marine-veterans-among-19-firefighters-killed-saving-community-fighting-wildfire/