Granite Mountain Hotshots: A prayer for the fallen

I was going to write about something else, but the events in Arizona compel me to write about the fallen firefighters. I have friends who are firefighters in Seattle and one up here in the Butte. We served together in Iraq as soldiers. It is to all firefighters serving to protect us from the ravages of wildfire and any other fire in all sorts of conditions that this is dedicated to...

Prescott is in shock. The Arizona town has lost 19 of its own while fighting an enemy far more deadly than any faced by soldiers in war. They were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite unit of firefighters that went into hell to battle wildfire, that unthinking, unblinking beast. Prescott’s loss is our loss.

We should take time to honor them and to offer prayers for their families during their time of mourning. At the time of this writing I do not know if a charity fund has been set up for them. Most likely it is in the making. Why should we who live all the way up here in Alaska do this? Well for one thing, it is the right thing to do. Secondly, the chances are very good this group of firefighters has been here fighting wildfires in Alaska.

They go to battle armed with pick axes, shovels, chainsaws and 40-pound rucksacks. Wearing their yellow shirts made of flame retardant fabric, pants made of the same stuff, tough boots and a hard hat. Boots on the ground, they march into the thick of it, right into the beast’s fiery breath.

Just a few miles from the town of Yarnel that beast was raging. The huge flames of the Yarnel Hill Wildfire consumed everything in sight and were beginning to threaten the nearby town. The crew got to work, cutting and clearing away dry fuel. Then something every wildland fighter fears happened.

The wind shifted, driving the firestorm directly toward them. Within seconds they had dumped their gear and scrambled into their emergency fire shelter bags; a last ditch effort to survive the unrelenting inferno bearing down on them.

But they did not survive.

And now the towns of Yarnel and Prescott mourn and our nation mourns with them. These are small towns like so many up here. Everybody knows these brave souls in one way or another in both communities. As for the crew itself, well they were tighter than any squad of veteran combat GI’s. They lived for fighting fire. It was a passion and a calling the crew shared between themselves. They had the love and respect from many grateful people in that state and beyond. This tragic event has devastated everyone involved.

I’m going to end this with a list of the fallen of the Yarnel Hill Fire tragedy.

Ashcraft, Andrew, 29; Rose, Anthony, 23; Caldwell, Robert, 23; Steed, Jesse, 36; Carter, Travis, 31; Thurston, Joe, 32; Deford, Dustin, 24; Turbfill, Travis, 27; Mackenzie, Christopher, 30; Warneke, William, 25;

Marsh, Eric, 43; Whitted, Clayton, 28; Mckee, Grant, 21; Woyjeck, Kevin, 21; Misner, Sean, 26; Zuppiger, Garret, 27; Norris, Scott, 28; Parker, Wade, 22; and, Percin, John, 24.

The Yarnel Hill Wildfire still rages on. Crews are battling it even as I write this. We owe them — and all firefighters — a debt of thanks for all they do to protect us. As for the Granite Mountain Hot Shots, I offer this prayer; “They gave all for all of us. May God grant them and their families peace and strength. Amen.”

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.