[quote](CNN) -- They were part of an elite squad confronting wildfires on the front line, setting up barriers to stop the spreading destruction. But in their unpredictable world, it doesn't take much to turn a situation dangerously deadly.
In this case, a wind shift and other factors caused a central Arizona fire, which now spans more than 8,000 acres, to become erratic, said Mike Reichling, Arizona State Forestry Division spokesman.
The inferno proved too much, even for the shelters the 19 firefighters carried as a last-ditch survival tool.
"The fuels were very dry, the relative humidity was low, the wind was coming out of the south. It turned around on us because of monsoon action," Reichling told CNN affiliate KNXV. "That's what caused the deaths."
The firefighters were killed Sunday while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire, northwest of Phoenix. Among the dead was Eric Marsh, superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, according to his father, John Marsh.
The families of the 18 other firefighters have been notified. There are no other reported injuries from the blaze, Reichling said.
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Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/01/us/arizona-firefighter-deaths/index.html[/url]
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