19 Firefighters Killed While Fighting Arizona Wildfire
2 replies, posted
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PRESCOTT, Ariz. — As a deadly, wind-driven wildfire continued to rage out of control in central Arizona on Monday, crews recovered the last of the 19 bodies of the members of an elite firefighting crew, who died after being overtaken by flames while battling the blaze, officials said. The bodies were taken in a procession to the medical examiner’s office in Phoenix, Fire Chief Dan Fraijo of Prescott said. Their names have not yet been released. The blaze they were working to extinguish, the Yarnell Hill Fire, near the town of Yarnell, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, has grown to some 8,374 acres and has destroyed more than 200 buildings, the authorities said Monday. Fire officials said they expected a difficult day with sudden, heavy rains and unpredictable shifting winds, similar to those that led to the deaths of the firefighters on Sunday.
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President Obama issued a statement on Monday as he was ending a visit to South Africa and flying to Tanzania. “Yesterday, 19 firefighters were killed in the line of duty while fighting a wildfire outside Yarnell, Ariz. They were heroes — highly skilled professionals who, like so many across our country do every day, selflessly put themselves in harm’s way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet.
“Michelle and I join all Americans in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of these brave firefighters and all whose lives have been upended by this terrible tragedy.”
Officials have declined to discuss how the firefighters were suddenly overtaken by the blaze, but Chief Fraijo told The Associated Press that the firefighters had to deploy their emergency shelters when “something drastic happened.”
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According to government figures, the fire Sunday represents the largest number of firefighters killed in one wildfire since a 1933 blaze in California that killed 25, and the largest loss of firefighters since 341 and two paramedics died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City.
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[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/arizona-blaze-rages-on-as-crews-cope-with-death-of-19-firefighters.html?_r=0[/url]
This is the third or fourth time this has been posted.
I couldnt find it sorry
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