How did the 19 firefighters died in Arizona?
The firefighters died on June 30, 2013, while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. The fire overtook them in a box canyon. At the time, it was the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in 80 years. Only one crew member survived and more than 120 homes were destroyed.
Is Brendan Mcdonough still a firefighter?
is the lone survivor of the Yarnell Hill fire tragedy of 2013. Today he is a public speaker and works with numerous nonprofits for veterans, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services. He lives in Prescott, Arizona.
What caused the fire in Yarnell AZ?
Figure 1. Estimated fire progression over time in Yarnell, Arizona in 2013. Graphic created by the National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA. In June 2013, the unincorporated community of Yarnell in Yavapai County, Arizona experienced a dangerous wildfire caused by a lightning strike.
How long did it take to contain the Yarnell Fire?
It took 12 days for emergency personnel to contain the fire, during which time mandatory evacuation orders were in place for the communities of Yarnell and Peeples Valley. When the fire was contained, over 8,300 acres had burned. Most devastating to the community, 19 local firefighters lost their lives attempting to contain the fire.
How has local leadership responded to the Yarnell wildfire?
Local leadership and the Yarnell community were facing a major, complex recovery effort following the wildfire. In the days immediately following the disaster, the community was not only physically impacted, but also emotionally impacted by the loss of fellow community members and the severe interruption to day-to-day life.
How many firefighters died in the Yarnell Hill Fire?
The Yarnell Hill was the largest wildland firefighter loss of life since the 1933 Griffith Park Fire in California in which 29 firefighters were killed, surpassing even the line-of-duty deaths at Colorado’s South Canyon Fire in 1994 and Montana’s Mann Gulch Fire in 1949.