What to know about the Granite Mountain Hotshots and the tragic Yarnell Hill Fire
The Yarnell Hill Fire overran and killed 19 wildland firefighters with the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew on June 30, 2013.
It was the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since 1933 and the greatest loss of U.S. firefighter life since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Who were the Granite Mountain Hotshots?
The Granite Mountain Hotshots were members of a wildland firefighting crew based out of the Prescott Fire Department. The group began as a fuels management crew in 2001 whose job it was to reduce the growth of fire-prone vegetation and create defensible space around buildings.
In 2004, the crew also started to respond to wildfires regionally and nationally. In 2008, it gained interagency hotshot crew trainee status and became the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Hotshot wildland firefighters are considered the special forces of firefighting, elite teams of about 20 firefighters who battle large, high-priority fires.
The Granite Mountain Hotshots had fought several wildfires in 2013 before the Yarnell Hill Fire ignited.
What was the Yarnell Hill Fire?
The Yarnell Hill fire occurred in Yavapai County near the small town of Yarnell. On June 28, 2013, a lightning strike ignited a fire on a steep mountain ridge west of the town.
Fueled by prolonged drought, dry conditions and dry thunderstorms, where the rain evaporates before touching the ground, the fire exploded in size in a short time, making it challenging to contain.
How big was the Yarnhill Hill Fire?
It started as a small fire, less than a half-acre on June 28, 2013, but the blaze grew over multiple days, burning more than 8,300 acres, destroying 127 structures and forcing the evacuation of the town of about 700 residents.
On June 30, 2013, powered by strong winds, the fire grew from 300 acres to more than 2,000 acres.
What went wrong during the Yarnell Hill Fire?
Earlier in the afternoon on June 30, the crew had communicated over the radio that they were “in the black” or in burned-over areas, near a ridge top. These areas are safe because they no longer have fuel for the fire to burn. It was assumed the firefighters would stay there.
No one realized that the crew left the black-burned area and headed southeast toward another safety zone at Boulder Springs Ranch in the Glen Ilah neighborhood of Yarnell.
During this time, there was a change in wind direction and speed, causing the fire to spread south three times faster than it had been moving previously.
The change in the fire spread meant that all their escape routes were blocked.
Why did the hotshots leave the black?
No official explanation exists for why they left the black-burned safety zone to try to get to Boulder Springs Ranch. The crew's decision to leave a safe area as winds whipped the blaze into a firestorm confounded wildfire experts and has remained a mystery despite multiple investigations.
What issues occurred that day that made the fire challenging?
The Yarnell Hill area had not experienced wildfire in more than 45 years. With extreme drought conditions and an excess of fuel in the form of chaparral and grasses, the area was more prone to burn.
The fire expanded quickly and changed direction which made it difficult for the firefighters to keep pace with the fire.
In addition, official reports revealed there were issues with radio communications and a lack of “radio discipline,” or etiquette.
Yarnell Hill: Lessons aid current wildfire-fighting efforts
What actually killed the Granite Mountain Hotshots?
The firefighters were trapped and were deploying fire shelters when the fire overtook them. They died in the 2,000-degree heat.
The group was found approximately one mile south-southeast of their last known location, roughly 600 yards west of the ranch. Some of the firefighters had fully deployed their shelters, while others were found in partially deployed shelters.
How did Brendan McDonough survive the fire?
Brendan McDonough was the lone survivor among the Granite Mountain Hotshots. On June 30, 2013, he was the lookout, tasked with observing the fire and watching the weather. As the fire grew unexpectedly fast, he had to flee to safety. He, too, thought the crew was safe in the black-burned area.
Who were the men who died?
Andrew Ashcraft, 29
Robert Caldwell, 23
Travis Carter, 31
Dustin Deford, 24
Christopher MacKenzie, 30
Eric Marsh, 43
Grant McKee, 21
Sean Misner, 26
Scott Norris, 28
Wade Parker, 22
John Percin Jr., 24
Anthony Rose, 23
Jesse Steed, 36
Joe Thurston, 33
Travis Turbyfill, 27
William Warneke, 26
Clayton Whitted, 28
Kevin Woyjeck, 21
Garret Zuppiger, 27
Who found the bodies of the Granite Mountain hotshots?
An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer was able to reach the area more than two hours after the fire overtook the hotshots.
How long did the Yarnhill Hill Fire last?
It took emergency personnel 12 days to contain the fire. It burned from June 28 to July 10, 2013.
What was the outcome of the Yarnell Hill Fire investigation?
The Yarnell Hill Fire Serious Accident Investigation Report by the Arizona State Forestry Division released later that year stated: "The judgments and decisions of the incident management organizations managing this fire were reasonable. Firefighters performed within their scope of duty, as defined by their respective organizations. The Team found no indication of negligence, reckless actions, or violations of policy or protocol."
Were the hotshots' families compensated after the tragedy?
Within days of the 2013 tragedy, donations to help the hotshots' families poured in from all over the world — and continued coming for months. One key organization managing the donations, the 100 Club of Arizona, collected $4.6 million for families.
Family members of 12 deceased hotshots also settled a wrongful-death lawsuit with the state of Arizona for $50,000 each on the eve of the second anniversary of the fire.
The litigation also included a workplace-safety case filed against the Arizona State Forestry Division, which contained multiple violations and fines totaling $559,000. In lieu of the fines, seven families that did not sue the state will receive $10,000 each from the Forestry Division, which was responsible for managing the fire.
The settlement contains no admission of liability by the Forestry Division. In addition, the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health withdrew a previous list of "willful" safety breaches by the agency and replaced them with a single "unclassified" violation. The language says Forestry failed to provide a hazard-free work environment during the Yarnell Hill Fire and management "failed to re-evaluate, re-prioritize and update fire suppression strategies" as a thunderstorm radically increased dangers.
Yarnell Hill Fire: New account of hotshot deaths
What disputed details were revealed more than a year after the fire?
More than a year after 19 firefighters perished in the Yarnell Hill blaze, the crew's lone survivor purportedly made a shocking revelation: Granite Mountain Hotshots were ordered to leave their safe zone during a radio call between their supervisor and his chief deputy.
Former Prescott City Attorney Jon Paladini said lookout Brendan McDonough, who barely escaped the firestorm, divulged his secret in a conversation with Darrell Willis, former chief of wildland fires for the city.
McDonough reportedly revealed that the Granite Mountain Hotshots were ordered to leave their safe zone during a radio call between their supervisor and his chief deputy. According to Paladini, McDonough overheard a conversation over the radio between two leaders of the crew. Hotshot Supervisor Eric Marsh had been separated from the others during the fire and descended from a ridge to the ranch. He told Jesse Steed, his deputy who was in charge of the crew, to have Steed and the crew join him at the ranch. Steed disagreed and thought it was a bad idea, but when Marsh gave him a direct order to descend, Steed acquiesced.
During one of the final radio transmissions, Steed reportedly told Marsh the crew was not going to make it. Marsh joined the other hotshots and was trapped with them as the flames moved in.
McDonough and Willis have denied Paladini’s account.
'Only the Brave' was the movie made about the firefighters
"Only the Brave," the 2017 movie starring Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges and Miles Teller, tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. It is, as the trailer says, "based on true events."
When it comes to what counts — the events of the Yarnell Hill Fire itself — "Only the Brave" sticks to the facts. In other parts of the story, it's hit or miss.
The depiction of the crew's final day together matches the records from the fire investigation, interviews with some of the people involved and a book by the fire crew's sole survivor, Brendan McDonough (played by Miles Teller).
'Only the Brave': How accurate is the movie? Here's what it gets right and wrong
What memorials honor the Granite Mountain hotshots?
The Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center has been open since 2018.
The center, located in Prescott's Gateway Mall, tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, preserving and displaying artifacts and memorabilia while educating visitors about wildland fires, firefighting and prevention.
A new mural honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots is scheduled to be unveiled on June 28 on the side of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce at the corner of West Goodwin Street and South Montezuma Street.
Prescott no longer has a hotshot crew. Firefighters in the city have focused full time on fuels management.
Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com. The Republic’s coverage outside Maricopa County is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Yarnell 19: What to know about Arizona's Granite Mountain Hotshots
