Here in Arizona summer fires are common and expected. With conditions so dry, lack of moisture hitting ground level, big storms that build near the mountains and the lightning strikes that go with them, there usually isn’t a year where a fire doesn’t start.
This season the first major fire broke out in Yarnell, Arizona (northwest of Phoenix) on Friday June 28, 2013. Tragically, on Sunday June 30, 2013 nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots out of Prescott, Arizona lost their lives while trying to contain/fight the fire now deemed the deadliest in state history.
As of today, July 2, 2013, the blaze still burns out of control and has claimed over 8,000 acres.
According to CNN.com the loss of these brave men isn’t only devastating from a human and heart-aching perspective but also because they represented about 20% of the entire PFD, a truly hard-hitting blow.
Please take a moment and send a prayer to the families of these heroes who fought on the front lines in order to try to save homes and businesses in and around Yarnell, Arizona.
To those nineteen brave men who have left the Earth I say your service will never go unrecognized and your spirit will live on through those who loved you.
Image courtesy azcentral.com
• • • • • • • • • • •
Published in multiple print and online sources, Author, Blogger and Freelance Writer Jenn Flynn-Shon has been writing for publication since 2001. Follow her antics on twitter @jennshon