The Granite Mountain Hotshots

The granite mountain hotshots were a group within the prescott fire department whose mission was to fight wildfires.

The granite mountain hotshots.

The granite mountain hotshots were a group within the department whose mission was to fight wildfires. A trail follows the last steps of the hotshots down to the fatality site where they made their last stand. The couple hunkered down inside their house as flames. On june 30 2013 nineteen of the 20 members of the granite mountain hotshots an elite crew trained to fight wilderness fires died as they battled a fire outside of yarnell.

The tragedy all but wiped out the 20 member granite mountain hotshots a unit based at prescott authorities said monday as the last of the bodies were retrieved from the mountain in the town of. The granite mountain hotshots memorial state park is dedicated to their sacrifice. The granite mountain inter agency hotshots were committed to 73 days of fire assignments completing 356 assessments 56 homes were treated 148 additional 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. Lee helm has made a half dozen trips to what is now called granite mountain hotshots memorial state park.

Granite mountain hotshots memorial state park was created to honor the hotshots. Yarnell lee and diane helm own a ranch 600 yards from where 19 granite mountain hotshots died in the yarnell hill fire on june 30 2013. A three mile 4 8 km path leads from a parking area on highway 89 up to an observation deck. Prescott fire chief dan fraijo later confirmed that all 19 were from the granite mountain hotshots.

For visitors it s a strenuous hike up a mountain ridge before descending into the box. Founded in 2002 as a fuels mitigation crew it transitioned to a handcrew in 2004 and ultimately to a hotshot crew in 2008. On june 30 firefighters with the prescott fire department s interagency called the granite mountain hotshots were overrun and killed by the fire. 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.