Arizona wildfire kills 19 elite firefighters
Source: Agencies |
July 2, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN out-of-control blaze in Arizona overtook an elite group of firefighters trained to battle the fiercest wildfires, killing 19 members as they tried to protect themselves from the flames under fire-resistant shields.
It was the most firefighters killed battling a wildfire in the US in decades.
The lightning-sparked fire, which spread to at least 800 hectares amid scorching temperatures, also destroyed 200 homes and sent hundreds fleeing from Yarnell, a town of about 700 residents about 140 kilometers northwest of Phoenix. Residents huddled in shelters and restaurants, watching their homes burn on TV as flames lit up the night sky above the town.
The disaster on Sunday afternoon all but wiped out the 20-member Hotshot fire crew based in nearby Prescott, leaving the city's fire department reeling.
"We grieve for the family. We grieve for the department. We grieve for the city," Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said on Sunday evening. "We're devastated. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet."
A total of 250 firefighters and support personnel were assigned to the fire as of Sunday. Fire managers said a top-level management team and another four Hotshot crews were on the way yesterday. They typically have 20 members each.
The National Weather Service said there was a 30 percent of thunderstorms and showers yesterday in the Yarnell area. Rain could help slow the fire, but the forecast also says the storms could produce gusty winds.
Television aerial video footage showed law enforcement vehicles patrolling Yarnell, driving streets with burned buildings on both sides.
Most people had evacuated from the town, and no injuries or other deaths were reported.
The 1933 Griffith Park fire killed 29 firefighters in Los Angeles, the last wildfire to kill more firefighter, according to the National Fire Protection Association's website. The most firefighters killed in the line of duty ? 340 ? was during the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, according to the website.
Hotshot crews go through specialized training.
It was the most firefighters killed battling a wildfire in the US in decades.
The lightning-sparked fire, which spread to at least 800 hectares amid scorching temperatures, also destroyed 200 homes and sent hundreds fleeing from Yarnell, a town of about 700 residents about 140 kilometers northwest of Phoenix. Residents huddled in shelters and restaurants, watching their homes burn on TV as flames lit up the night sky above the town.
The disaster on Sunday afternoon all but wiped out the 20-member Hotshot fire crew based in nearby Prescott, leaving the city's fire department reeling.
"We grieve for the family. We grieve for the department. We grieve for the city," Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said on Sunday evening. "We're devastated. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet."
A total of 250 firefighters and support personnel were assigned to the fire as of Sunday. Fire managers said a top-level management team and another four Hotshot crews were on the way yesterday. They typically have 20 members each.
The National Weather Service said there was a 30 percent of thunderstorms and showers yesterday in the Yarnell area. Rain could help slow the fire, but the forecast also says the storms could produce gusty winds.
Television aerial video footage showed law enforcement vehicles patrolling Yarnell, driving streets with burned buildings on both sides.
Most people had evacuated from the town, and no injuries or other deaths were reported.
The 1933 Griffith Park fire killed 29 firefighters in Los Angeles, the last wildfire to kill more firefighter, according to the National Fire Protection Association's website. The most firefighters killed in the line of duty ? 340 ? was during the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, according to the website.
Hotshot crews go through specialized training.
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