Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wildland Firefighters and their families in AZ need your prayers!

station seven, where the granite mt hotshot crew was based, is about a block down the street from my house. We were there several times in the last couple days, it is pretty moving. The chain link fence surrounding it, is covered with flowers, shovels, momentos, and the t shirts firemen wear. Not just from Arizona, which were there, but try new York city, yonkers, all over the country. It is pretty sad to see those faces. We happen to have a house right where the traffic comes by, and I saw fire trucks from all over the state, from as to the far southern part of the state and all over going by to pay homage. Number of them started pumping arms when then saw the holiday decorations/flags on the front of our house. And I was thinking of the three generations of my family that were/are phoenix fire.
And comparing notes with some multigenerational people in Prescott on my front porch how we all are tied in. Prescott isn't completely in the current century. I found out today I am on a distant basis related to some posters here on the campfire, due to these connections.
There is to be a memorial service Tuesday, that I am hoping I can join the patriot guard for, unable to get my bike up in time for sunday, when the bodies are coming back. And I heard from a poster today that a nationally known political figure plans on being in attendance. In a way, I hope not, it should not be a political thing.

We have a wildland team leaving today to attend. Tried hard to attend but couldn't make it work.

There is a patriot guard group coming from new mexico.
He Kansas wackjobs the Baptist church are in town too, proably a little disappointed.
Seems the mayor and city council in emergency session passed a city ordanance against any demostrations near a memorial which means within a mile, of say, three people.
I heard tonight that evidenty the Jonesborough group could not get hotel space, forest service campground space, or any other space locally and they are shacking out on blm land.
supposedly they were holding a vigil protest near a fire station and the story goes a few people in black snuck up on them and had a quiet conversation about the advisability of their going someplace else, if I said that properly, or maybe a more directive conversation.
the parade today, which is always big, was filled with references to the 19fire fighters.
I think the most moving to me was an entry from matts cocktail lounge on the row for people that know it, 19 riderless horses with fire helmets on the saddles.
Turns out I know pretty specifically where they were killed, and the arm chair pundits can theorize all they want, but what happened, happened, it is tuff country and it got them.

Under an already HOT Sierra Vista Sun (say 0900) EVERY corner on Fry Blvd had Fire Trucks, and Fire Fighters, and their Families deployed at every intersection.

The heavy gear was already off, by the time I rolled through on errands,.......some of our local characters wearing running shorts, but still in the heavy upper rigging / Nomex.

"Fill the Boot,....all proceeds to the families of the lost", was the basic theme.

Traffic was HELD UP,......by folks stopping , and offering both $$$, thanks , and blessings.

.....and there wasn't any horn blowing.

This part of Arizona knows how to mourn.

GTC

All the radio stations I've listened to continue to solicit donations for the families... AZ Diamondbacks raised 200,000 in the first few days and continue raising money for the families.

This hit AZ hard and we as a community will never forget our brothers.

Kent

Well stated........"a more directive conversation" !! :-)

Also the Matt's entry was a top notch showing!!

Thanks for the informative updates!!

a little update. As i write this, the firefighters are again headed north. Tuesday there will be a memorial in prescott valley for them, anticipated as many as 20 000 people to be there.
There are patriot riders coming from new mexico, san diego, orange county, california that i know about. And i saw a contingent of Hell's Angels on the way down to phx this morning.
I hopefully will be joining the phx contingent early tuesday morning.
The national figure to be in attendence is none other than the Vice President Joe Biden. Which should prove interesting regardless of what one was to think of it. Yavapai county other than a few transplants from california is about as far conservative as you can get. For those that know the area, they can appreciate the irony. I just hope politics are left out of it.
I was talking to a family member who was envovled with the yarnell fire, and they were killed right on the edge of the maughn ranch I.e. The old hays ranch for those that know the place. Having got caught up in those foothills years ago, I can attest to the brush, thickness, and how difficult it was/is.
I don't know if i can say this properly, but you can very easily run around bawling like a baby girl when you see the outpouring of support from people/fire departments from all over the country.
I feel especially sorrowful for the lookout, who survived the fire, who most likely, although not doing anything wrong, will probably spend the rest of his life wondering why he wasn't killed too.
A lot of time people take police/fire for granted, until something like this happens, and often times too easily forgotten. I hope that is not the case here.

The procession just left for Prescott...

I'm one of the volunteers at the Alamo; a couple of times a month I dress all 1835, grab my flinter and wander the grounds, get my photo taken gratis with groups of people all day long.

Yesterday two little old Hispanic/Indian ladies politely asked me if they could get their picture taken with me. They were sisters, from Phoenix, on vacation, all laughing and joking as such sisters will.

The conversation drifted to weather and heat and humidity and such when one of them asked me if I had heard about the firefighters in Arizona who had died. I said I had and how tragic it was. She cut the conversation short, see, she suddenly couldn't speak and started to cry.

Birdwatcher

Indeed.

And how to pay homage to her dead heroes.

Movingly, sensitively, graciously, solemnly, from deep in the inner-most heart.

We have 9 hot shot crews out behind the house.
The fire makes a run every afternoon with winds 15-30 mph and 8 percent humidity, then it lays down at night. So far 20,000 acres but will go for probably another week or so.

Which brings up another point. Why the FURK don't we fight fires at night any more? No, USFS has meetings after breakfast which was after sunup and by the time everyone is deployed for the day, it's 10 AM and the thermals are starting.
Then, the fire is feeding itself by 1 PM, so everyone has to back off until 4 when it's time to head back to camp for supper.
So dysfunctional. Loggers can log at night, machines can run at night, LED headlamp systems are excellent, the fire is down and the air cool (ish), and not every tree is a widowmaker.

A lot of "burn out" operations do happen at night.

In tough conditions, daytime firefighting is an "air show". Mostly tankers, helicopters, and bulldozers if there is access. At night when fires usually laydown the handcrews go out.