 One of the largest long term effects of wildfire is the loss of life associated with such a tragedy. Another devastating effect that will last a lifetime is the sudden burning of vegetation The high heat that the fire produced has burned the soil so harshly that it is unlikely any plants will be able to grow there. With such sudden and high temperatures the soil burns and is no longer able to absorb water. Reforestation may not be an option. With loss of plants to eat, wildlife will flee the area as soon as the fire has died down. New parts of Arizona may have increased wildlife populations due to the rapid spread of flames, forcing animals to relocate. Although wildfires are nothing to be happy about there were some positive effects the Yarnell wildfire left on the small town. Not only did the fire  Picture: People begin rebuilding their homes after the fires. Many get temporary and smaller homes until they can get a job and enough money to grow. | Emotions are running high in the small town of Yarnell Arizona after a tragic fire took the lives of 19 firefighters. With a sudden wind gust the fire quickly rushed down the dry landscape engulfing the firefighters before they had time to escape. Although water is a renewable resource, it is very difficult to distribute enough to put out fires across a mile long stretch of land. The wildfires began because of dry conditions that can be attributed to global warming. With increasing temperatures come dryer landscapes. Wildfires in this area of the country are not uncommon but the death of so many heroes is. This is the largest loss of firefighters in a single act since 9/11. Family members of the victims are pointing fingers at government and fire officials claiming negligence.  Picture: A baby deer runs away from a fire spreading relentlessly. It now has no where to go now that its home has burnt to the ground impact the area, it impacted the entire state of Arizona. Fortunately, some short term effects of the fire are finally beginning to resolve themselves. With help from local charities, homes are being rebuilt and money is being donated to uninsured families that lost belongings in the fire. Through tragedy, peoples true character is revealed. This small town had really proved its commitment not only to the fallen heros but to each other. |
Vocabulary Words:
Reforestation: The replanting of trees and other plants that have been cut down or destroyed
Renewable resource: A natural resource that can naturally replenish itself
Global Warming: The gradual increase in temperatures of the Earth largely attributed to human activity
Reforestation: The replanting of trees and other plants that have been cut down or destroyed
Renewable resource: A natural resource that can naturally replenish itself
Global Warming: The gradual increase in temperatures of the Earth largely attributed to human activity
2 Local Reports of the Fire and what it meant for the Community
Yarnell Hill Fire report: Results of investigation released Saturday
By: Dave Biscobing
PRESCOTT, AZ - The Yarnell Hill wildfire will be remembered for being one of the most devastating in the country’s history.
But not for it's size -- just 8,400 acres – or the 13 days it burned uncontained.
It’s because of one number: 19.
It’s the number of hotshot firefighters who died, making the Yarnell Hill wildfire the deadliest in Arizona history and the deadliest in the U.S. in 80 years.
An independent team of investigators released its serious accident report, which addresses the chain of events that led to the tragedy.
Join us for LIVE COVERAGE on abc15.com and ABC15 Mobile Saturday morning.
FATEFUL DAY
The Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed on June 30 just before 5 p.m., records show.
A chain link fence now surrounds the spot where flames burned over the firefighters in a rocky canyon just outside the town of Yarnell.
In an interview at the scene in July, Darrell Willis, the crew’s founder, said all 19 of the men died together, side by side.
So far, there are many unanswered questions about what led to this tragedy.
But here's what we do know.
After finishing an assignment on the other side of a ridge, the hotshots descended into a valley and began cutting fire lines to protect a nearby ranch. But by moving, the hotshots lost sight of the fire line. The weather would worsen, the winds would completely shift and push a wall of flames around a corner, trapping the men in a canyon and cutting off the hotshots’ only escape route.
THE INVESTIGATION
After the deaths, the State Forestry Division assembled an independent team of investigators, who’ve spent more months looking into what happened.
Their final report should address several of the major questions that have surfaced:
- Did the hotshots receive enough information about the changing weather conditions?
- Were they properly warned and was it soon enough?
- Did the hotshots or their supervisors break rules or protocols?
- There are also questions about whether the Granite Mountain Hotshots should have been deployed in the first place.
Officials have declined to discuss any specifics related to the investigation until it's over.
But the answers will hopefully come Saturday.
And while they may be painful and difficult to hear, officials admit they are necessary to prevent another disaster.
Original Website of the Article: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/yarnell-hill-fire-report-results-of-investigation-to-be-released-saturday
Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/yarnell-hill-fire-report-results-of-investigation-to-be-released-saturday#ixzz2pZWYKGHX
Yarnell Hill Fire report: Results of investigation released Saturday
By: Dave Biscobing
PRESCOTT, AZ - The Yarnell Hill wildfire will be remembered for being one of the most devastating in the country’s history.
But not for it's size -- just 8,400 acres – or the 13 days it burned uncontained.
It’s because of one number: 19.
It’s the number of hotshot firefighters who died, making the Yarnell Hill wildfire the deadliest in Arizona history and the deadliest in the U.S. in 80 years.
An independent team of investigators released its serious accident report, which addresses the chain of events that led to the tragedy.
Join us for LIVE COVERAGE on abc15.com and ABC15 Mobile Saturday morning.
FATEFUL DAY
The Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed on June 30 just before 5 p.m., records show.
A chain link fence now surrounds the spot where flames burned over the firefighters in a rocky canyon just outside the town of Yarnell.
In an interview at the scene in July, Darrell Willis, the crew’s founder, said all 19 of the men died together, side by side.
So far, there are many unanswered questions about what led to this tragedy.
But here's what we do know.
After finishing an assignment on the other side of a ridge, the hotshots descended into a valley and began cutting fire lines to protect a nearby ranch. But by moving, the hotshots lost sight of the fire line. The weather would worsen, the winds would completely shift and push a wall of flames around a corner, trapping the men in a canyon and cutting off the hotshots’ only escape route.
THE INVESTIGATION
After the deaths, the State Forestry Division assembled an independent team of investigators, who’ve spent more months looking into what happened.
Their final report should address several of the major questions that have surfaced:
- Did the hotshots receive enough information about the changing weather conditions?
- Were they properly warned and was it soon enough?
- Did the hotshots or their supervisors break rules or protocols?
- There are also questions about whether the Granite Mountain Hotshots should have been deployed in the first place.
Officials have declined to discuss any specifics related to the investigation until it's over.
But the answers will hopefully come Saturday.
And while they may be painful and difficult to hear, officials admit they are necessary to prevent another disaster.
Original Website of the Article: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/yarnell-hill-fire-report-results-of-investigation-to-be-released-saturday
Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/yarnell-hill-fire-report-results-of-investigation-to-be-released-saturday#ixzz2pZWYKGHX
Here is the second article by the local news
Arizona Community "Devastated" After Deaths of 19 Firefighters
by: Jonathan Lloyd and Christina Cocca
Colleagues, friends and family members are mourning 19 members of an Arizona firefighting crew killed when they were overtaken Sunday by a 13-square-mile fire burning northeast of Phoenix in one of the deadliest days in decades for firefighters involved in a wildfire attack.
The bodies of some of the firefighters were found inside fire-resistant shields that usually are deployed as a last resort. The 19 victims were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team, an elite firefighting crew deployed to help cut off the fire, according to fire officials.
"We're devastated," said Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo. "We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet."
Previous information indicated only 18 of the 19 victims were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team, but Fraijo confirmed during a news conference Monday that all 19 were part of the Hotshots crew.
A 20th member of the Hot Shots crew was serving as a lookout when the lightning-sparked fire overtook his colleagues.
Two firefighters from Southern California were among those killed.
"Whatever may have happened there will be understood someday," Fraijo said of launching an investigation into the deaths of the firefighters.
The fire remained at 0 percent containment Monday afternoon.
"To the friends and family of those lost yesterday, I know we can never fully repay the sacrifices made by your loved ones, but we can honor their service through our gratitude and prayers, and through our steadfast dedication to do whatever is necessary to bring this fire under control before it causes any more heartache," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said in a news conference Monday.
Brewer signed a declaration of emergency to make more resources available to battle the blaze, including a grant requested to federal officials that would cover most of the cost.
The fight Sunday against the 8,000-acre wildfire near the community of Yarnell (map), about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, marks one of the deadliest days for firefighters involved in a wildland fire fight in decades. The National Fire Protection Association website lists the last wildland fire to kill more firefighters as the 1933 Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles, which killed 29.
Eighty-six firefighters were killed in the Devil's Bloom wildfire, which burned in Idaho in 1910. In 1994, the Storm King Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colo., killed 14 firefighters who were overtaken by a sudden explosion of flames.
In 2006, five U.S. Forest Service firefighters were overcome by fire as they battled the 41,000-acre Esperanza fire, an arson fire that led to the conviction of a man on five counts of first-degree murder. The men were attempting to defend an empty home at the end of a road.
The shelters deployed during Sunday's firefight are designed to protect firefighters when the situation becomes desperate. Hotshot crew members are trained to dig into the ground and cover themselves with the tent-like shelter made of fire-resistant material, Fraijo said.
Under ideal circumstances, the fire will burn over the shelters.
"It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions," Fraijo said.
Nineteen fire shelters were deployed, and some of the firefighters were found inside them, while others were outside the shelters, Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman, told the Arizona Republic.
Hotshot crews go through specialized training and are often deployed soon after a fire breaks out. Sometimes they hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities. This crew had worked other wildfires in recent weeks in New Mexico and Arizona.
Prescott, which is more than 30 miles northeast of Yarnell, is home to one of 110 Hotshot crews in the United States, according to the U.S. Forest Service website. The unit was established in 2002, and the city also has 75 suppression team members.
The victims' identities were released Monday afternoon, and are listed below.
"This is as dark a day as I can remember, with Arizona suffering the truly unimaginable loss of 19 wildland firefighters," Brewer said in a statement. "It may be days or longer before an investigation reveals how this tragedy occurred, but the essence we already know in our hearts: fighting fires is dangerous work. The risk is well-known to the brave men and women who don their gear and do battle against forest and flame.
"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."
Most people had evacuated from the town, and no injuries or other deaths were reported during the lightning-sparked fire, which began Friday evening. The fire destroyed at least 200 homes.
The city of Prescott released names of the 19 firefighters killed in the blaze. Fourteen of the victims were in their 20s:
Andrew Ashcraft, 29
Kevin Woyjeck, 21
Anthony Rose, 23
Eric Marsh, 43
Christopher MacKenzie, 30
Robert Caldwell, 23
Clayton Whitted, 28
Scott Norris, 28
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
William Warneke, 25
John Percin, 24
Arizona Community "Devastated" After Deaths of 19 Firefighters
by: Jonathan Lloyd and Christina Cocca
Colleagues, friends and family members are mourning 19 members of an Arizona firefighting crew killed when they were overtaken Sunday by a 13-square-mile fire burning northeast of Phoenix in one of the deadliest days in decades for firefighters involved in a wildfire attack.
The bodies of some of the firefighters were found inside fire-resistant shields that usually are deployed as a last resort. The 19 victims were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team, an elite firefighting crew deployed to help cut off the fire, according to fire officials.
"We're devastated," said Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo. "We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet."
Previous information indicated only 18 of the 19 victims were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team, but Fraijo confirmed during a news conference Monday that all 19 were part of the Hotshots crew.
A 20th member of the Hot Shots crew was serving as a lookout when the lightning-sparked fire overtook his colleagues.
Two firefighters from Southern California were among those killed.
"Whatever may have happened there will be understood someday," Fraijo said of launching an investigation into the deaths of the firefighters.
The fire remained at 0 percent containment Monday afternoon.
"To the friends and family of those lost yesterday, I know we can never fully repay the sacrifices made by your loved ones, but we can honor their service through our gratitude and prayers, and through our steadfast dedication to do whatever is necessary to bring this fire under control before it causes any more heartache," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said in a news conference Monday.
Brewer signed a declaration of emergency to make more resources available to battle the blaze, including a grant requested to federal officials that would cover most of the cost.
The fight Sunday against the 8,000-acre wildfire near the community of Yarnell (map), about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, marks one of the deadliest days for firefighters involved in a wildland fire fight in decades. The National Fire Protection Association website lists the last wildland fire to kill more firefighters as the 1933 Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles, which killed 29.
Eighty-six firefighters were killed in the Devil's Bloom wildfire, which burned in Idaho in 1910. In 1994, the Storm King Fire near Glenwood Springs, Colo., killed 14 firefighters who were overtaken by a sudden explosion of flames.
In 2006, five U.S. Forest Service firefighters were overcome by fire as they battled the 41,000-acre Esperanza fire, an arson fire that led to the conviction of a man on five counts of first-degree murder. The men were attempting to defend an empty home at the end of a road.
The shelters deployed during Sunday's firefight are designed to protect firefighters when the situation becomes desperate. Hotshot crew members are trained to dig into the ground and cover themselves with the tent-like shelter made of fire-resistant material, Fraijo said.
Under ideal circumstances, the fire will burn over the shelters.
"It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions," Fraijo said.
Nineteen fire shelters were deployed, and some of the firefighters were found inside them, while others were outside the shelters, Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman, told the Arizona Republic.
Hotshot crews go through specialized training and are often deployed soon after a fire breaks out. Sometimes they hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities. This crew had worked other wildfires in recent weeks in New Mexico and Arizona.
Prescott, which is more than 30 miles northeast of Yarnell, is home to one of 110 Hotshot crews in the United States, according to the U.S. Forest Service website. The unit was established in 2002, and the city also has 75 suppression team members.
The victims' identities were released Monday afternoon, and are listed below.
"This is as dark a day as I can remember, with Arizona suffering the truly unimaginable loss of 19 wildland firefighters," Brewer said in a statement. "It may be days or longer before an investigation reveals how this tragedy occurred, but the essence we already know in our hearts: fighting fires is dangerous work. The risk is well-known to the brave men and women who don their gear and do battle against forest and flame.
"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."
Most people had evacuated from the town, and no injuries or other deaths were reported during the lightning-sparked fire, which began Friday evening. The fire destroyed at least 200 homes.
The city of Prescott released names of the 19 firefighters killed in the blaze. Fourteen of the victims were in their 20s:
Andrew Ashcraft, 29
Kevin Woyjeck, 21
Anthony Rose, 23
Eric Marsh, 43
Christopher MacKenzie, 30
Robert Caldwell, 23
Clayton Whitted, 28
Scott Norris, 28
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
William Warneke, 25
John Percin, 24
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