19 Firefighters Die battling Yarnell Hill Fire

Sunday, June 30, 2013

By Jackee Coe, Laurie Merrill and Michelle Ye Hee Lee The Republic | azcentral.com Mon Jul 1, 2013 12:22 PM Arizona forestry officials confirmed Sunday night that 19 firefighters have died in the Yarnell Hill Fire that has ripped through half of the town, sent residents to Prescott for safety and given the state its biggest ever wildfire firefighter tragedy. “It’s a dark day,” said Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman. Follow our latest coverage on the deadly wildfire Reichling said the 19 firefighters were found in an area that also had 19 fire shelters deployed. Some of those found were inside a shelter, which is typically used as a last resort to withstand the fire as it blows over. Some of the crew members were found outside the shelters. Officials said 18 of the deceased were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team. It’s unknown what fire crew the 19th firefighter belonged to. The firefighters are part of a team that is typically sent in first to help cut off the fire, Reichling said. “They were up there doing what they normally do,” he said. At Mile High Middle School, dozens of cars filled the parking lot as family and friends of the firefighters were gathered. There, they received official confirmation of the firefighters’ deaths. Through the night, people slowly filed out of the middle school, holding one another and looking ashen. Juliann Ashcraft said she found out her firefighter husband, Andrew, was among the dead by watching the news with her four children. “They died heroes,” she said, crying and wiping tears away from her eyes. “And we’ll miss them. We love them.” Gov. Jan Brewer offered her condolences to the families of the fallen in a statement late Sunday. "This is as dark a day as I can remember, with Arizona suffering the truly unimaginable loss of 19 wildland firefighters," the statement said. "It may be days or longer before an investigation reveals how this tragedy occurred. 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.” Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, whose family has deep roots in the area, heard via text messages from from his sister and mother around 9:15 p.m. that a family friend was among those lost. Bennett declined to provide the name of the firefighter. "They have four little kids and my mother, who lives up there, just saw his wife at church this morning with the four little ones," Bennett said. "He was out on the fire. He didn't make it back. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Bennett said his family is awaiting word on the names of other fallen firefighters. "My two sons … played varsity soccer at Prescott high School and several of their teammates went onto one of the hotshot crews in the area," he said, adding they are not sure if they were on the Prescott hot shot crew or the Granite Mountain hotshot crew. "They've got four or five friends who went onto these hot-shot crews. Our hearts are broken for the families that probably have already gotten the worst news ever. We just don't know who it's going to be — but I do know it's going to be the friends of my boys." The fire is currently burning with zero containment and has grown well past 2,000 acres. Chuck and Ninabill Overmyer said they lost their two-story Tudor-style house in a community just southwest of Yarnell. They had bought the home seven years ago on the Fourth of July, for their seventh anniversary. On Sunday afternoon, Ninabill decided to take a nap around 1:30 p.m. "The next thing I know, he’s bouncing me off the couch telling me we’re being evacuated,” she said. Chuck frantically tried to rescue their hot rod and three classic cars by preparing to tow them out. He was only able to hook up the hot rod before the fire had traveled from 300 yards to only about 40 feet away. “There were embers hitting us on the head,” Ninabill said. She told him they needed to leave right then. “We went through the flames to get out,” Chuck said, estimating that if they had waited minutes more, they would have died. The smoke was so thick that they could not see the front of the car, they said. “I have never felt anything that hot in my entire life,” Ninabill said. “The wind was blowing so hard, it was truly a firestorm.” Rancher John Hays, 85, lives in the heart of Peeple's Valley. He said the fire is burning the edge of his property line, but as of 9:30 p.m., it was burning only brush. "You can't believe the fierce winds we're having and how dry it is — I've never seen it so erratic — the fire turns back and forth" Hays said. "The horror is that people have died trying to put it out. It's heartbreaking. It's tragic." Annie Gaines, 61, was certain she lost her home in Yarnell, where she lived for eight years. Gaines and her daughter, Neatie, arrived at the Red Cross shelter at Yavapai Community College with only their Chevrolet van, two dogs and a safe with their birth certificates. Earlier Sunday, they had known there was a fire burning but had heard that it wasn’t going to hit Yarnell. At 3 p.m., Annie Gaines noticed the smoke was getting bad. An hour later, the fire department arrived telling them they may have to evacuate. Moments later, a fire truck came down their road, blaring its horn. “It looked like hell coming over that ridge,” Annie Gaines said. “There was a towering inferno.” Annie said she was frustrated with the information trickling in, but news of the firefighters’ deaths hit hard. “It makes me sick,” she said. “They’re up there and they were just trying to save stuff. Nothing up that canyon was worth their lives. I feel sort of responsible.” Reichling said the fire is quickly reaching “Type 1” status — the most critical level that triggers immediate resources from the federal government — and that federal authorities will be brought in to help Monday morning and state officials will begin investigating the deaths. Reichling expects the manpower dedicated to the fire to reach about 400 people as federal help arrives. Fire officials Sunday afternoon ordered the evacuation of Yarnell and parts of Peeples Valley as a fast-moving, lightning-caused fire that charred up to 2,000 acres reached Yarnell, Reichling said, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman. Between 200 and 250 structures have burned. The Wickenburg Community Hospital has been treating residents with minor injuries and those who have suffered smoke inhalation, said Roxie Glover, director of community relations at the hospital. Glover said the emergency room started filling up about 6:30 and “it’s been pretty steady ever since.” Those with more serious injuries are being transported to other medical centers. “It’s a terrible tragedy,” Glover said, noting the hospital had fielded phone calls from families wondering if their family member was among the firefighters lost. People seeking information about family members should call the Red Cross hotline: 800-842-7349. Those looking for shelter should call: 800-733-2767. The wind-whipped blaze also prompted officials to shut 25 miles of State Route 89 between Congress and Kirkland, but residents of the hundreds of evacuated homes could still travel the estimated 30 miles to a shelter in Prescott, Reichling said. The Yarnell Hill Fire, ignited at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, was moving north and east at the rate of about half a mile per hour, fire officials said. As about 250 firefighters fought to keep the blaze at bay Sunday, officials evacuated three subdivisions outside Yarnell, officials said. Speaker of the House Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, was shaken Sunday evening during a brief interview with The Arizona Republic. He could not confirm details of the number of people injured, and said the Department of Safety was on its way to take him to the scene. "I'm going to the scene, I'm going there," he said, adding he just spoke with his friend, Yavapai County Sheriff's Officer Scott Mascher. "The fire took an incredibly swift turn is all he (Mascher) said, and he said it is very, very bad. Tonight, we need all of Arizona's prayers." About 14 Yarnell-area residents Sunday afternoon had arrived at the shelter at Yavapai College near Prescott, located about 30 miles from Yarnell, according to Brian Gomez, spokesman for the Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter. He said the power went out at the shelter due to monsoons but was restored. More people were expected to need shelter as officials ordered still further evacuations, Gomez said. The Red Cross also opened a shelter at Wickenburg High School Sunday night that is able to shelter as many as 475 people. The shelter is located at 1090 S. Vulture Mine Road in Wickenburg. Yavapai College was also used to house evacuees during the Doce Fire, which has been 96 percent contained, officials said. The Yarnell Hill Fire was zero-percent contained Sunday, officials said. Officials opened a shelter for livestock and large animals at Hidden Spring Ranch on Highways 89 in a part of Peeples Valley that as of Sunday was safe from the fire, officials said. The Yarnell Hill Fire had burned 300 acres Sunday morning, had scorched about 1,000 acres Sunday afternoon, and had probably grown to 2,000 acres Sunday evening, Reichling said. Fueled by chaparral and grass, the blaze was burning uphill on state land about 25 miles north of Wickenburg with 15-to 20-foot flames, he said. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office evacuated the Double Bar A Ranch and Model Creek areas, officials said. A reverse 911 call was sent and sheriff’s deputies went door-to-door to alert residents. The temperature warmed to 101 degrees Sunday afternoon and southwest winds were blowing up to 22 miles per hour, Reichling said. The low humidity, type of fuel, topography and northwest direction of the wind was feeding the and pushing it up the hill toward the communities, Reichling said. About 250 firefighters, including two Type 2 crews, three Type 1 crews, and four engines, were on the scene, Reichling said. Three Type 1 crews, seven helicopters, two air tankers, four single engine air tankers, and multiple engines and air tankers were ordered. There were expected to be about 400 firefighters arriving Sunday night and on Monday, Reichling said. Firefighters were establishing structure protection in the Yarnell area and directly attacking the fire along its eastern flank. A large animal shelter was set up at the Hidden Springs Ranch on Arizona 89 southwest of Hayes Ranch Road, he said. A shelter for people and small animals is being opened at Yavapai College at 1100 E. Sheldon in Prescott. Fire crews across the state also were battling three other blazes, including firefighters in Prescott who continue to work to get the Doce Fire fully contained, authorities said. Firefighters near the Mexican border were battling the 530-acre W-2 Fire that is burning in oak grassland and brush about seven miles west of Lochiel, east of Nogales and south of Sierra Vista, Coronado National Forest spokesman Gerry Perry said. A local rancher reported the fire about 3 p.m. Saturday. The fire likely is human caused as there has been no lightning in the area recently, but the exact cause still has not been determined, Perry said. No structures currently are threatened. A total of 160 firefighters, including six hand crews, two helicopters dropping water, two engines, two single air tankers and a heavy air tanker, were battling the blaze, he said. Fire crews had conducted burnouts along the western flank overnight Saturday to insure the fire would not grow from that side, Perry said. They will continue to build additional fire lines and supplemental burnouts in advance of the fire to try to prevent further growth. Firefighters were battling the 25-acre Dean Peak Fire near about 10 miles southeast of Kingman, officials said. Two heavy air tankers and one Type 1 crew had been ordered. The 6,767-acre Doce Fire burning seven miles northwest of Prescott in the Granite Mountain Wilderness was 96 percent contained Sunday morning, officials said. Road and trail closures in the area are still in effect. The estimated cost to date for the Doce firefighting efforts is $6, 787,293, authorities said. Staff writers Lindsey Collom and Yvonne Wingett contributed to this report.

---