Granite Mountain 19 Hotshots Commemorative Flag

Description

Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, part of the Prescott Fire Department, lost their lives Sunday, June 30th, 2013 while battling the 2,000-acre Yarnell Hill fire that ignited south of Prescott Arizona.

At 5:36 p.m. MST (23:36 UTC) on June 28, 2013, lightning ignited a wildfire on BLM lands near Yarnell, Arizona, a town of approximately 700 residents about eighty miles northwest of Phoenix. On June 30, strong winds reaching more than 22 mph, pushed the fire from 300 acres (120 ha) to over 2,000 acres (810 ha). A long-term drought affecting the area contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and erratic behavior, as did temperatures of 101 °F.

On June 30, 19 firefighters with the Prescott Fire Department’s interagency Granite Mountain Hotshots were overrun and killed by the fire. Initial reports indicated that one of the firefighters was not a member of the hotshot crew, but Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo later confirmed that all 19 were from the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The firefighters had apparently deployed fire shelters, but not all of the bodies were found inside them. The city of Prescott released the names of the 19 firefighters on July 1.

By July 1 the fire had grown to over 8,300 acres and prompted the evacuation of the nearby community of Peeples Valley. The fire was still completely uncontrolled, with more than 400 firefighters on the line.

On July 2 the fire was estimated at 8 percent containment and had not grown in the past 24 hours. By the end of the day on July 3, the fire was reportedly 45 percent contained and not growing, thus allowing Peeples Valley residents to return to their homes on July 4.

Four days later on July 8 residents of Yarnell were permitted to return. The fire was declared 100 percent contained on July 10.