Saturday marks 5th anniversary of deadly Yarnell Hill Fire
Jun 29, 2018, 4:51 AM | Updated: 6:30 pm
(AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — “I thought this was a bad dream. This can’t possibly be happening.”
Those were the words of longtime Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman Wendell Peacock when he heard that 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters from the Prescott Fire Department died fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire.
Tragedy struck five years ago on Saturday, when the Yarnell Hill Fire burned more than 8,400 acres of land in 2013, destroyed 129 buildings and took the lives of the 19 city of Prescott firefighters.
It was the deadliest wild-land fire for United States firefighters since the 1933 Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles left 29 dead.
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Peacock knew team leader Eric Marsh very well. They had been on several fires together and when the Arizona Wildfire Academy in Prescott was launched in March 2003.
“He was not one that enjoyed getting pats on the back. He was a humble, hard worker,” Peacock said.
“It was rare for him to take any credit for anything he was involved with. He was just happy to let others get the credit.”
For Peacock, the Yarnell tragedy was like reliving a nightmare.
“I was on the Dude Fire near Payson in 1990 when six inmate-firefighters from Perryville prison were killed. It had a big impact on me and everyone else involved for that matter,” he said.
“I thought at the time, ‘This is something I’m never going to have to deal with again,’ and then came the fire in Yarnell.”
Peacock, who is now retired and living in Missouri, said a local business called Fire Station Bar and Grill in Camdenton has a framed T-shirt that honors the 19 lost firefighters.
“Each time I go in there I see it and take a close look at it and realize how far reaching that tragedy was. It was felt in Missouri, 1,500 miles away.”
The Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park, where the firefighters were killed, opened in November 2016.
Arizona State Parks Executive Director Sue Black said the site has had more than 50,000 visitors.
“They leave notes, mementos and cards. I’m happy for the families of the fallen heroes because this will be here for decades.”
Black said people from around the world are visiting the site.
“We’re putting together a map of the world on our website with pictures of each of the mementos,” she said.
“It’s a beautiful and emotional trail. When you experience it you come out a changed person.”
