All rights reserved. Brendan McDonough survived one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history, an inferno near Yarnell, Ariz., that killed 19 of his fellow Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30, 2013. Yes. No. [Read next:How the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots reached millions]. "It's real life. Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a place to remember the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters who were lost on June 30, 2013, while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. This is fiction. Only the Brave vs the True Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots Only one Granite Mountain Hotshot survived the fire. Shes like, Theres no way youre doing it right now. Around 1550, the wind shifted and the fire started pushing aggressively to the southeast, toward Yarnell. homes were assessed for treatment, 137 chip jobs were completed, 101 hazardous trees felled, and 222 acres were treated with an additional 26 acres of open space. The incident forced vital discussions about wildland firefighting strategies and tactics, ultimately resulting in a comprehensive investigation report. FireRescue1 is revolutionizing the way the fire service community did the granite mountain hotshots suffer [17] Initial reports indicated that one of the firefighters was not a member of the hotshot crew (IHC), but Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo later confirmed that all 19 were in league with the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The Granite Mountain Hotshots Tragedy Here's What Happened The park opened on November 30, 2016, and had over 18,000 visitors in its first year. This article incorporates public domain material from Yarnell Fire June 28 July 10, 2013. The park was officially named "Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park" Arizona's first memorial state park. Court upholds net neutrality rules for Internet access, Orlando shooting investigation broadens to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Juror slams judge in Stanford rape case, calls sentence a mockery amid recall push. In the time that has passed since his friends' deaths, he hasturned at times to alcohol, he said. [29] She ordered flags flown at half-staff in Arizona through July19. Firefighters performed within their scope of duty, as defined by their respective organizations. We set up a third deposition. With temperatures exceeding 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit with extreme turbulent air conditions, Mason notes no fire shelter could have protected that crew on June 30 of 2013. The winds were driving the fire toward the hotshots at a rate of a quarter mile a minute, over 12 miles an hour, making it impossible to outrun. Winds increased substantially; the fire turned south and overran the Granite Mountain IHC at about 1642., The report explains that there is a gap of over 30 minutes in the information available for the Granite Mountain IHC. He found odd jobs and tried to prepare for fatherhood,despite continued drug use and an arrest tied to stolen property. He was told by the second in command, Jesse Steed, to evacuate his position. But, I have a purpose in life. It was June 30, 2013, and it was a dry, windy day. Youre recognized near your home in Prescott, Ariz., and at firefighter memorials. So there was no time to prep, and he said no. Guys are dying in the same exact scenarios that were killing hotshots fifty or seventy-five years ago. My hands were thick with the black soot that I knew contained trace amounts of the bodies of my friends.. They could 'read the writing on the wall' before it got to them. Eric Marsh's According to reports, the reason he was put on lookout duty was because he was still getting over the flu. Just one of the hotshots on the crew survivedhe was posted as a lookout on the fire and was not with the others when the fire overtook them. I wanted to shut these people up. On June 29, winds increased and the fire spotted outside containment lines. Detailing how tragedy unfolded and how the community has honored the fallen firefighters. Encircling the fatality site, 19gabions, one for each hotshot, are united by chains. That task was shouldered by former Deputy Fire Chief Darrell Willis, who is not represented in the movie. She saw it as a fresh start. Granite Mountain Hotshots: Why this tragedy touches so many - FireRescue1 Copyright 2023 And for some reason they left." All rights reserved. SEE MORE:How accurate is the movie'Only the Brave'? How did the Granite Mountain Hotshots get trapped? The exact same scenarios.. -USAToday.com, Fact-checking Only the Brave confirmed that the real Eric Marsh (portrayed by Josh Brolin in the movie) met his wife Amanda (Jennifer Connelly in the film) in 2007 in a 12-step program for alcoholism. Hike the Hotshots Trail from the parking lot trailhead up to the overlook where you'll see sweeping views in every direction, and perhaps leave a memento on our remembrance wall. Citing his PTSD, he twice canceled depositions scheduled by the Arizona Division of Forestry, which was investigating the fire and negotiating settlements with the families of the dead. -ABC News. On June30, it overran and killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. I kept reliving it, kept reliving it, kept reliving it, McDonough said. The nineteen men who died were:Andrew AshcraftRobert CaldwellEric MarshGrant McKeeSean MisnerScott NorrisWade ParkerJohn Percin Jr.kevin WoyjeckAnthony RoseJesse SteedJoe ThurstonWilliam WarnekeClayton Whitted Travis Carter Dustin Deford Brendan McDonoughThe group . A year after the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots perished in Arizona's Yarnell Hill Fire, Brendan McDonough sat on the side of the road, opened his trucks glove compartment, pulled out his 9mmand came close to ending it all. [13], The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said that 127 buildings in Yarnell and two in Peeples Valley had been destroyed. The fire fell under the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Forestry Division. Closer Look: How 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots Died in the Yarnell Hill "The hotshot crew was the best thing that ever happened to me," says the real Brendan McDonough. The 19 crewmembers were found approximately one mile south-southeast of their last known location, approximately 600 yards west of the Ranch.. Get an up-close look at the Yarnell Hill Fire by watching the documentary below, which includes audio and video of the Granite Mountain Hotshots from the day of the tragedy. MONTINI:Out of the ashes - surviving hotshotwrites a book. Photos of the 19 fallen Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters and Brendan McDonough, the lone survivor, in Prescott, Ariz., in 2013. Portable shelters couldn't save 19 members of elite hotshots Im not scared of them, I dont fear them. Arizonans were infuriated, then, when it was announced that McDonough would write a book about his life and the ordeal, and advise on a movie, Granite Mountain, which is set to begin filming this summer. Officials Reveal Last Words Of Granite Mountain Hotshots In Deadly (State records show that the deposition had been scheduled for late May 2015. On June 30 2013 nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots died while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire near Yarnell Arizona. 19 of the hotshots died while battling the Yarnell Fire in 2013, and on June 30, 2021, a memorial park was officially dedicated in memory of not only the firefighters, but also for a community who suffered losses as a result of the . The video shows the Granite Mountain Hotshots observing the fire from the safety of a ridge before they descended into a much more hazardous area. "I'd like to go back to school," he said. did the granite mountain hotshots suffersouthwest cargo phone number. . They were young men in the prime of their lives, like 21-year-old Kevin Woyjeck, whose father is a Los . We are preparing a deployment site and we are burning out around ourselves in the brush. And on July 9, then-Vice PresidentJoe Bidenspoke at a memorial service in Prescott. Learn more about each firefighter at the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park memorial site or CNNs tribute to the fallen firefighters. She was telling me the story of how she got pulled over for speeding. [14] A "flash point" of the fire was the Glen Ilah neighborhood of Yarnell, where fewer than half of the structures were burned. Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was created to honor the hotshots. -Variety.com. An evacuation shelter was set up at Yavapai College in Prescott, with members of the Red Cross providing cots and blankets for overnight stays, along with meals and medical assistance. [33] Authorities said that US$800,000 had been raised for the families of the victims as of July4.[34]. Yes, we can build a fire shelter that would protect us from any fire, but youre gonna have to hire somebody specifically to follow each firefighter around to carry it, Mason said. To many, they are husbands, brothers, sons, and friends. He makes no mention of a conversation he purportedly had with Prescotts former chief of wildland firefighting, in which he reputedly said he overheard a radio call in which the hotshots were ordered to leave their safe zone. Granite Mountain Hotshot Superintendent Eric Marsh's decision-making was called into question by men who had directly worked with Marsh, or were aware of his reputation with other hotshot superintendents, in the weeks following the June 30, 2013, tragedy when Marsh and 18 members of his crew were overrun by fire. After the deadly incident, it was decided that they couldn't keep the crew and folded down the service. What Actually Killed The Granite Mountain Hotshots? The investigation team was unable to verify communications from the crew from 1604 until 1637 and, therefore, there is much that cannot be known about the crews decisions and actions prior to their entrapment and fire shelter deployment at around 1642., The summary continues: It is known that the Granite Mountain IHC left the black sometime after 1604 and traveled through an unburned area toward a safety zone at the Boulder Springs Ranch. and suppliers. That evening, the Type 4 incident commander ordered a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) and additional resources for the following morning. Nineteen steelgabion baskets encircle the Fatality Site area to protect and preserve thearea for future visitors. Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a place to remember the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters who were lost on June 30, 2013, while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. I support you fully. On June 30, firefighters with the Prescott Fire Department's interagency called the Granite Mountain Hotshots were overrun and killed by the fire. The UTV turned aroundand I got my last glimpse of the boys as they headed into the brush, their bodies leaning forward, their heads tilted down.. He figured shed be better off without him. Fire resources shifted to resident evacuation and structure protection in town. Dec. 15--YARNELL, Ariz. -- Nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshots died in the Yarnell Hill Fire on . [28], On June 30, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer issued a statement offering her condolences. The only thing of concern that they discovered were issues with radio communications due to heavy radio traffic and radios that weren't programmed with proper tone guards. The fire forever changed the physical landscape of the area, but also solidified the resilience of area residents and the wildland firefighting community.