Quicksand Fans

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/01/us/arizon ... ter-deaths

I hope the link works.

Sunday evening, 19 members of a 'hot shot' firefighting team from Prescott, Ariz. were killed fighting the Yarnell Fire in the high country of central Arizona. It was the largest loss-of life for firefighters on a single day since 9-11.

These men were an elite group. Their job was to get as close as they could to the front lines of the fire and create firebreaks to at least slow its advance. The first reports indicate a wind shift, along with high temperatures and very dry brush, sent the fire right at them at a high rate of speed. Some of them didn't even have time to get out their portable shelters.

It's been a very dry, very hot summer in Arizona, and the threat of wildfires is very high. We're all hoping the Arizona Monsoon, which brings rain every year in late summer, helps improve this situation.

The Yarnell Fire has already consumed 9,000 acres, and, from what I here, it's nowhere close to being contained. Some homes have been destroyed, and the towns of Yarnell and Peeples Valley have been evacuated.

The deaths of these firefighters should remind us all how dangerous being a first responder can be. It takes a special kind of person to do these jobs. As the saying goes, they're going in when everyone else is trying to get out.

May God bless all first responders and their families.

- Big Bad John

They just read off all their names and ages on CNN. Just horrible. Most of them were 25 or younger. RIP.

Truly tragic...

Battling wildfires is no less important than those which occur in homes and buildings, and in a way far more dangerous. Often, such fires are allowed to burn themselves out as they do have a role in the forest for clearing underbrush, causing certain species of trees to germinate like pine - the heat is needed to pop their cones, spreading seeds - and the like. The trouble starts when brush fires threaten human lives or property.

Firefighters are truly a breed apart. Years ago, I've worked with those who fight forest fires in Ontario, and heard some stories which would curl your hair. A single shift in the wind can change the situation in an instant, and fire crews can find themselves in peril in a heartbeat. Even prescribed burns - deliberately set fires which are done under "controlled" conditions to try and prevent bigger, more devastating ones from happening - can and do turn around and become a monster if conditions suddenly change.

I echo John's comments.

My heart goes out to their brother firefighters and their families. When I was a firefighter, the closest I ever came to getting barbecued was fighting a piddly little woods fire. Followed the fire line I was working into a patch of pine trees. The fire hit those pines and all the pine duff on the ground and all the dead lower limbs went up like a roman candle. Got a little singed, but made it out okay.

They were saying this morning that it was the single biggest tragedy for firefighters since 9/11. Absolutely heartbreaking.

My prayers go out to their families and other loved ones.

God Bless those 19, and may God comfort their families!

The State of Arizona is looking into what happened here and, what, if anything could be done to prevent something like this from happening in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if they conclude this was one of those things that just happen, and it's part of the risk involved in the job.

Those of us who live in the American Southwest need to remember we live in a desert. Wildfires are a threat all the time, given the dry conditions. In the low desert, fires are usually easier to contain because there isn't as much fuel for them to consume as there is in the high country. A few years ago, there was a wildfire about 30 miles from where I live. You could smell the mesquite trees burning.

Fires in the high country are even worse. The high country looks more lush, but it's still a desert. All that dry brush can go up very quickly when ignited. The rough terrain and problems of accessibility make it more dangerous to fight wildfires in the high country than in the low desert.

It doesn't help when some bozos cause wildfires due to their stupidity. We've had two big wildfires around here that were started on the Fourth of July by jerks setting off illegal fireworks. In one of them, the pastor of my church had to evacuate his home. He and his wife spent the night at the church. They learned church pews do not make good bunks.

In the other fire, a wildlife and nature preserve was threatened by a wildfire caused by some drunk Mensa rejects shooting fireworks across a river. They got their just deserts because the fire blew back across the river and caused some damage to their home.

Give first responders a break this Fourth of July and leave the fireworks to the professionals. Those who fight wildfires in the desert will thank you.

- Big Bad John

I loathe the 4th of July for precisely the reason you stated: The idiots that set off their own homemade versions. My roof almost caught on fire one year because of said idiots.

This would probably be why I'm sadistically gleeful on the 4ths where it rains.

bbjohn wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if they conclude this was one of those things that just happen, and it's part of the risk involved in the job.

They were dealing with a lot of gusting wind. When everything's that dry and you're right on the edge of the fire trying to dig a back stop it only takes a momentary shift of direction to cook you alive. I believe they train to set up the emergency shelters they carry in less than a minute and they didn't have time to fully deploy them. For their sake I hope it was that quick. I can't think of a single worse way to die.

yesterday's New York Times had a touching story yesterday... many of these brave men had dreamed of being firefighters since they were kids, a common aspiration that only a few follow through on...