19 firefighters killed battling Yarnell blaze

  YARNELL HILL FIRE UPDATE  

By Craig Harris and Michelle Ye Hee Lee

The Republic | azcentral.com 

Mon Jul 1, 2013 7:57 AM

 

Nineteen firefighters, including 18 from the elite Granite Mountain Hotshots of Prescott, died Sunday fighting an out-of-control wildfire in Yarnell, a tiny Yavapai County town roughly 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

The Yarnell Hill Fire is burning west of State Highway 89 between Yarnell and Peeples Valley. It is the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least three decades.

About half of the town’s 500 homes were feared destroyed by the blaze, which began early Friday evening and had spread to 8,374 acres by early Monday. All of Yarnell and the neighboring Peeples Valley were evacuated. Fire crews reported no containment on the fire.

The blaze had tripled in size in just hours Sunday, growing from 2,000 acres to 6,000 acres as of 11:30 p.m., according to Incident Commander Mike Reichling. 

Reichling confirmed 18 of the firefighters killed in the blaze are with the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew out of Prescott. It is unclear at this time where the 19th victim is from.

Reichling said that crews died when the winds turned around and they were caught in a bad situation. He said it was a catastrophic situation with dry vegetation fueling the fire.

“This fire was very radical in its behavior, the fuels were very dry, the relative humidity was low, the wind was coming out of the south, it turned around on us because of monsoon action this afternoon,” Reichling said. “That’s what caused the deaths, the change in the radical behavior of the burning fuels.”

Officials said the Yarnell Valley has been in a drought for about 10 years and the materials fueling the fire are very dry, helping the fire spread fast.

Reichling said the area hasn't had a major fire in 40 years.

For complete coverage by The Arizona Republic, including a story about the Dude Fire which killed six firefighters in the Rim Country in 1990, click on azcentral.com. 

Yarnell Hill Fire Facts

Fire Start Date:  June 28, 2013 at 3:30 p.m.

Location:  West of State 89 between Yarnell and Peeples Valley

Size:  Estimated 8,374 acres

Percent Contained:  0 percent containment

Cause:  Lightning

Injuries to Date:  A fire crew had to deploy their fire shelters late yesterday afternoon after strong winds pushed the fire to their position and 19 firefighters died in the line of duty.

Estimated Cost to Date:  Unknown

Evacuations:  At 4:00 p.m. yesterday the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office advised residents in the communities of Peeples Valley and Yarnell to evacuate their homes. 

Within a few hours after evacuation, strong winds out of the North pushed the fire front into Yarnell and Glen Isla South of Yarnell.  Several homes and other structures burned in Yarnell.  

Residents are advised that a Red Cross shelters are open at Yavapai Community College in Prescott at 928-717-8210 and at the Wickenburg High School in Wickenburg at 928-928-446-1766. People and small animals are welcome at both shelters.

Number of Resources:  A Type 1 Incident Command Team will assume responsibility for the fire at or before 6:00 p.m. today.  Currently the Arizona Type 2 incident Command Team is directing operations with: 18 engines, 18 fire crews, 8 support water tenders, 2 crash/rescue vehicles, 2 structure protection vehicles, and 4 dozers.   

On order are more 20-person hotshot crews, type 2 hand crews and other firefighting personnel and equipment.

Fire Conditions and Weather:  Temperature is expected to reach 92 to 102 degrees, humidity at 18 percent and the winds out of the Southwest at 5 miles per hour and gusting higher.  There is a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms and possible rain showers.  Fire behavior may become erratic again today because of the thunder storm generated winds, high temperatures and very dry fuels.

Fire Closure Update:  The Department of State Public Safety has closed State Highway 89 between Date Creek Road South of Yarnell and Sorrells Ranch Road North of Peeples Valley.  The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has three different road blocks at the following: the junctions of Highway 89 and Hayes Ranch Road, Hays Ranch Road and Sickles Ranch Road and of Buckhorn and Frontier Road.

Today’s Activities:  Firefighters will continue work to secure the Eastern flank of the fire and protect other homes at risk from the evacuated areas.  Air tankers will be dropping fire retardant on the perimeter of the fire as needed and 5 helicopters assigned to the fire will be dropping water on hot spots in support of the firefighters.