I am watching from a few miles down the hill in Arizona as a wildfire burns not 3 miles from my home in identical rough terrain. Thanks be to God, there's no wind today. But in grateful humility, my heart goes out to the families of these heroes. We think about your firefighter. We pray for you. Thank you. Thank you for your unfathomable sacrifice. Our hearts break for you. The people of Arizona look on that site as sacred ground. As long as wildfires burn in Arizona, we will never forget you.
love to the families of these men. I honor the crew every year by leading a hike to the memorial site. it is a heartbreaking yet poignant experience each year.
@@saucejohnson9862 Yes there is. It is seven miles round trip. I do it in late fall, early winter. The hike down to the fatality site is a short but very steep segment.
sad and tragic but I think following investigations with mandates to avoid placing blame were basically theatre to say they did something because the reality was it was human decisions that caused this. No one wants to do the tough job of pointing out the obvious , who decided to go into that box canyon. Even here we have radio Tx by "unknown hotshot", theres no clarity in the earlier comms whether they were in the black and the location when they say they saw the guy earlier on a atv . I don't understand whether they gave that guy accurate informatioin or not and if not that should have been made clear. Its also confusing to undertand that Div Alfa was in fact Granite Mountain superintendant Eric Marsh. From what I have gathered GM had recently been treated as heros for their work at another fire which garnered a lot of attention and respect. That there was not a half hour gap in the radio transmissions but that there was a disagreement regarding tactics with Marsh ordering them to rally at the ranch to save the town of Yarnell, but Jesse Steed knew the route would go against training however, being a marine, followed his superiors orders. Marsh may have already been at the ranch and was to meet with them. Obviously this would place some responsibilty on men who died tragically and theres no one who wants to critique heros post homously, and decisions made at the beginning to not use air assets in the first place were critical to this story.
I was caught in a fire in 1987 The Lost Fire, Old Station, California in The Lassen National Park I have never been able to find footage or dialouge about that event Please do that story I ve never been interviewed
Paul. the 1987 Lost Fire on the Lassen NF was when your DIVS lit off the unburned fuel with a Terra Torch in the drainage in the middle of the day resulting in very aggressive fire behavior. You guys were getting cut off and sought advice from the DIVS about what to do and where to go and got no help from your DIVS. He later got back to you claiming he had radio trouble or something. I know you guys were really pissed off. The IMT reassigned him as the Rehab Specialist. The DIVS would later make similar decisions on the June 1990 Dude Fire that resulted in six fatalities. Thank you for bringing up this completely forgotten and ignored wildland fire near-miss. Until now, they buried it!
I really don’t know why these 19 man died that day, back in 1980 I was on a fire as our crew were force to Deploy as fire roar over us like a train sound, I could hear Other crying and yelling, we managed to survive, so why did these 19 firefighter had to died that day just doesn’t make sense. Prayer for the families that lost there Spouse, Friend, Father, Brother, Uncle,
Why in God's name did they move from the safe area to a low lying area that allowed the fire to roll over them? Why? Lost 19 lives that day dying by fire..one of the worst ways to die Blessings to the 19 and Charles Morton who also died by being trapped and burned over. Tragic...so tragic...Tx fan
If you live in Arizona and can hike the Hotshots Memorial Trail, I highly recommend you do so. I lead a group on the hike at least once a year. Once you're up in what was the black at the time, you can easily see their escape route and safety zone (the ranch). It is a very quick and short walk, but was no match for the flaming front. Standing there, you can imagine Eric saw the fire overtaking the town and couldn't stand by while that happened. It is assumed he calculated that he and the crew could make it down safely and in time to help protect the structures. Unfortunately...they did not.
@@ShannonLH1108 Thank you very much. I cannot take advantage of doing the hotshots trail. I am type 1 diabetic and due to my rheumatoid arthritis I could not do the walking. My heart grieved for the Hotshots and the tragic events that killed them. I also followed Charles Morton as well. Thank you so much. Gloria
Really? Never leave the black? How then do you expect to get any effective suppression work done if you're cowering in the black while the fire progresses?
I'm just glad that reporter could clear up so much by pointing out that firefighters, are indeed, human. For the longest time, we all thought they were just moving Statue 🗽🗿 statues....
one person is always designated as a lookout. they are to keep eyes on the fire line and report anything they see. lookout failed to report a change in fire behavor. in the video he said "I see the smoke turn from white to black, meaning the fire was buring more"... he did not report this. I feel had they known that the fire was buring more they would have never left the black... any change in fire behavior is very important regardless the type of fire you're engaging.
@@warplotusThey still decided to leave the black, into a high and thick brush chimney, AFTER their lookout had been compromised. Utter insanity. Id give anything to listen to how that conversation went. 19 highly trained hotshots, and not one of them realized how many watch outs they were breaking? Sounds like a culture issue to me. A totally unnecessary tragedy.
@@jackolas4400 this is what happen when you get called to a small fire at 3pm... everyone wants to rush to put it out before dinner. watch another video where a few of the heads were in a copper looking at a small fire, probably about 50ft round. dude ordered the chopper down, got out with just his tool. winds shifted and dude was dead a 10 minutes later.
As a former, retired, Wildland Firefighter. It makes me want to cry.
I am watching from a few miles down the hill in Arizona as a wildfire burns not 3 miles from my home in identical rough terrain. Thanks be to God, there's no wind today. But in grateful humility, my heart goes out to the families of these heroes. We think about your firefighter. We pray for you. Thank you. Thank you for your unfathomable sacrifice. Our hearts break for you. The people of Arizona look on that site as sacred ground. As long as wildfires burn in Arizona, we will never forget you.
love to the families of these men. I honor the crew every year by leading a hike to the memorial site. it is a heartbreaking yet poignant experience each year.
I want to do that hike, I heard there's a stop for each of the 19 men.
@@saucejohnson9862 Yes there is. It is seven miles round trip. I do it in late fall, early winter. The hike down to the fatality site is a short but very steep segment.
16:22
Lord. I was doing okay until she said that. She's got me crying there.
poor families and town all around. great people. wow
Hard tragic lessons. RIP. A entire crew killed...
sad and tragic but I think following investigations with mandates to avoid placing blame were basically theatre to say they did something because the reality was it was human decisions that caused this. No one wants to do the tough job of pointing out the obvious , who decided to go into that box canyon.
Even here we have radio Tx by "unknown hotshot", theres no clarity in the earlier comms whether they were in the black and the location when they say they saw the guy earlier on a atv . I don't understand whether they gave that guy accurate informatioin or not and if not that should have been made clear. Its also confusing to undertand that Div Alfa was in fact Granite Mountain superintendant Eric Marsh.
From what I have gathered GM had recently been treated as heros for their work at another fire which garnered a lot of attention and respect. That there was not a half hour gap in the radio transmissions but that there was a disagreement regarding tactics with Marsh ordering them to rally at the ranch to save the town of Yarnell, but Jesse Steed knew the route would go against training however, being a marine, followed his superiors orders. Marsh may have already been at the ranch and was to meet with them.
Obviously this would place some responsibilty on men who died tragically and theres no one who wants to critique heros post homously, and decisions made at the beginning to not use air assets in the first place were critical to this story.
Boss man was trying to save his vehicles and equipment. Sad for the families. Down hill in the green no lookout could of happened... dang.
From this information it appears they left their safe zone under a false sense of security.
Heartbreaking...
I was caught in a fire in 1987 The Lost Fire, Old Station, California in The Lassen National Park I have never been able to find footage or dialouge about that event Please do that story I ve never been interviewed
Paul. the 1987 Lost Fire on the Lassen NF was when your DIVS lit off the unburned fuel with a Terra Torch in the drainage in the middle of the day resulting in very aggressive fire behavior. You guys were getting cut off and sought advice from the DIVS about what to do and where to go and got no help from your DIVS. He later got back to you claiming he had radio trouble or something. I know you guys were really pissed off. The IMT reassigned him as the Rehab Specialist. The DIVS would later make similar decisions on the June 1990 Dude Fire that resulted in six fatalities.
Thank you for bringing up this completely forgotten and ignored wildland fire near-miss. Until now, they buried it!
I really don’t know why these 19 man died that day, back in 1980 I was on a fire as our crew were force to Deploy as fire roar over us like a train sound, I could hear Other crying and yelling, we managed to survive, so why did these 19 firefighter had to died that day just doesn’t make sense. Prayer for the families that lost there Spouse, Friend, Father, Brother, Uncle,
Good story
The fire was over 2000° degrees. The shelter can only resist fire at 500° minimum.
different deployment site
The Shelter didn't hold up!! May they all Rest in PEACE ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Bullcrap
Why in God's name did they move from the safe area to a low lying area that allowed the fire to roll over them? Why? Lost 19 lives that day dying by fire..one of the worst ways to die Blessings to the 19 and Charles Morton who also died by being trapped and burned over. Tragic...so tragic...Tx fan
If you live in Arizona and can hike the Hotshots Memorial Trail, I highly recommend you do so.
I lead a group on the hike at least once a year. Once you're up in what was the black at the time, you can easily see their escape route and safety zone (the ranch). It is a very quick and short walk, but was no match for the flaming front.
Standing there, you can imagine Eric saw the fire overtaking the town and couldn't stand by while that happened. It is assumed he calculated that he and the crew could make it down safely and in time to help protect the structures. Unfortunately...they did not.
@@ShannonLH1108 Thank you very much. I cannot take advantage of doing the hotshots trail. I am type 1 diabetic and due to my rheumatoid arthritis I could not do the walking. My heart grieved for the Hotshots and the tragic events that killed them. I also followed Charles Morton as well. Thank you so much. Gloria
Pride is a Killer ! Horrible call from SUP!
Sorry but protecting houses should not even be a thought only saving lives. These poor men did not need to die. This is heartbreaking
Sad to hear.
The number 1 note I kept on me when I became a wildland firefighter: never leave the black.
Really? Never leave the black? How then do you expect to get any effective suppression work done if you're cowering in the black while the fire progresses?
My Father lived in Congress Arizona when this happened! Horrible call from the leader.
10 Standard Firefighting Orders
1.Fail
2.Fail
3.Check
4.Fail
5.Fail
6.Check
7.Fail
8.Fail
9.Check
10.Check/Fail
I'm just glad that reporter could clear up so much by pointing out that firefighters, are indeed, human. For the longest time, we all thought they were just moving Statue 🗽🗿 statues....
An how can you change it so no. Fires barker out
Inexperience?
Sole survivor?? How
He was in a different area acting as a lookout.
one person is always designated as a lookout. they are to keep eyes on the fire line and report anything they see. lookout failed to report a change in fire behavor. in the video he said "I see the smoke turn from white to black, meaning the fire was buring more"... he did not report this. I feel had they known that the fire was buring more they would have never left the black... any change in fire behavior is very important regardless the type of fire you're engaging.
@@warplotusThey still decided to leave the black, into a high and thick brush chimney, AFTER their lookout had been compromised. Utter insanity. Id give anything to listen to how that conversation went. 19 highly trained hotshots, and not one of them realized how many watch outs they were breaking? Sounds like a culture issue to me. A totally unnecessary tragedy.
@@jackolas4400 this is what happen when you get called to a small fire at 3pm... everyone wants to rush to put it out before dinner.
watch another video where a few of the heads were in a copper looking at a small fire, probably about 50ft round. dude ordered the chopper down, got out with just his tool. winds shifted and dude was dead a 10 minutes later.
Well, politicians won't allow prescribed burns, which is literal insanity.
Pride is the Killer.