Paying Tribute to the 19 Fallen Firefighters and What we Can do to Prevent Similar Blazes Here at Home

They were part of an elite squad confronting wildfires on the front line, setting up barriers to stop the spreading destruction. But in their unpredictable world, it doesn’t take much to turn a situation deadly.

Who were the men of Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew killed fighting the Yarnell Hill fire Sunday?

Fourteen of the men were in their 20s. Three of them have babies on the way.

Meanwhile, the fire they were fighting is still burning out of control.

Authorities believe the wildfire began with a lightning strike Friday in Yarnell, Ariz., a town of 700 people about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix, and spread to at least 2,000 acres Sunday amid triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. By early today, the Yarnell fire had tripled in size and was 6,000 acres, according to Arizona incident commander Mike Reichling.

The fire has since destroyed about 50 homes and threatened 250 others in and around Yarnell. About 200 more firefighters joined the battle Monday, bringing the total to 400.

Prescott City Councilman Len Scamardo said the wind changed directions and brought 40 mph to 50 mph gusts that caused the firefighters to become trapped around 3 p.m. Sunday. The blaze grew from 200 acres to about 2,000 in a matter of hours.

Before the 19 deaths in Arizona, 43 firefighters had been killed so far in 2013, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. A total of 83 firefighters died last year while on duty.

A Facebook page in memory of the Arizona firefighters garnered more than 120,000 “likes” in less than 10 hours.
“Such a tragic loss,” one person wrote. “My heart aches for these brave souls, and for their families and friends.”

Preventing Fires in Southern Utah

With similar conditions here in southern Utah, and as firefighters battle three lightning-caused wildfires in eastern Utah, fire officials in the southern part of the state are implementing restrictions aimed at preventing human-caused blazes.

“Right now our fuels are extremely, extremely dry,” said Adam Heyder, Washington County’s fire warden. “It isn’t going to take much to cause a wildland fire.”

The dry conditions have Heyder and other fire officials worried about the rest of the summer.

“We can anticipate that things are only going to get drier and conditions are going to get worse,” he said, adding that conditions are as bad as or worse than last year’s devastating fire season in Utah. “If we get multiple starts it’s going to be hard to catch them all.”

Southwest Utah’s meager snow pack and spring runoff have made for brittle-dry conditions, even in the higher elevations where heavier vegetation provides more fuel for fires, according to Heyder.

The worsening conditions prompted fire managers with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Utah Division of Forestry to implement fire restrictions starting Thursday, June 20.

The restrictions affect all unincorporated lands, private and state-owned, in Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington Counties.

Banned are the following activities:

-Open fires of any kind, except for campfires and charcoal fires in approved fire pits at developed recreation/picnic sites.

-Smoking, except in vehicles, buildings or cleared areas.

-Lighting fireworks of any kind or other pyrotechnic devices.

-Welding or metal cutting/grinding in areas of dry vegetation.

-Use of exploding targets.

In addition, the Bureau of Land Management’s Color Country District has prohibited the use of any combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed and functioning.

Heyder said those who don’t follow the restrictions are subject to citations or prosecution if they end up starting a wildfire.

“If there is negligence or people aren’t obeying the laws that are out there, we do aggressively go after them to recoup the suppression cost to ease that burden on the taxpayer,” he said.

The restrictions do not apply to cities and towns, which have the authority to issue their own fire restrictions.

Let’s all do our part to have a fun and safe summer!!