(Photo by U.S. Forest Service)
The Yarnell Hill fire, which began with a lightning strike on June 28 and took the lives of 19 firefighters from the Granite Mountain Hot Shots less than 24 hours later, has grown by 50 percent over the past 24 hours with no signs of containment.
Source: ESRI, National Interagency Coordination Center
The fire, located four miles west of Yarnell, Ariz., is nearly 8,400 acres in size and has 450 firefighters working to gain control. The terrain is mountainous and dry with easy fuel in the brush and grass covering. The estimated date for containment is now July 15, meaning firefighters will be in harm’s way for the next half month.
According to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, the town of Yarnell had lost 50 structures to the fire with another 250 homes and commercial buildings threatened.
According to the National Interagency Coordination Center’s Incident Management Situation Report, a Type 1 Incident Command Team has assumed responsibility for the fire, with 12 crews, 36 engines and seven aircraft forming the primary response. Additionally, 8 support water tenders, 2 crash & rescue vehicles, 2 structure protection vehicles and four dozers are all working in support.
More 20-person hotshot crews, type 2 hand crews and other firefighting personnel and equipment are being called in as well.
The City of Prescott, the state of Arizona and the nation continue to mourn the loss of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. Their names were released on Monday. They were:
Anthony Rose, 23 • Eric Marsh, 43 • Robert Caldwell, 23 • Dustin Deford, 24 • Sean Misner, 26 • Garret Zuppiger, 27 • Travis Carter, 31 • Grant McKee, 21 • Travis Turbyfill, 27 • Jesse Steed, 36 • Wade Parker, 22 • Joe Thurston, 32 • John Percin, 24 • Clayton Whitted, 28 • Andrew Ashcraft, 29 • Scott Norris, 28 • Billy Warneke, 25 • Chris MacKenzie, 30 • Kevin Woyjeck, 21
The team had deployed and taken to their individual fire shelters — as trained — to avoid a fast-moving wall of flame. The event, called a burnover, is one of the most dangerous a firefighter on location can experience.
The one member of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots who survived was moving a truck at the time the rest of the crew was moving to their shelters.
Prescott fire chief Dan Fraijo said of the unnamed firefighter, “He had been assigned to do a function, and he wasn’t with them when they had deployed to shelter. He feels terribly, and we all feel terribly, and we have very few words that express that sort of sorry. When you take a person in your arms and hug ’em, you know, you don’t have to say too much.”
Update, 10 p.m. ET, July 3
The 600 firefighters battling the Yarnell Hill fire have made excellent progress. According to the Incident Information System, the fire is now 45 percent contained.
Video: Yarnell Hill fire
The time-lapse video below of the Yarnell Hill fire’s growth shows the unpredictability of the winds and the situation the Granite Mountain Hot Shots were facing.
(Photo by U.S. Forest Service)