Special Report- Reflections on 19 Heroes

June 30, 2019, marks the sixth anniversary of the LODD of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, who were killed while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire southeast of Prescott, Arizona.The 20-man crew, the only certified IHC that was part of a municipal fire department (City of Prescott), was trapped in a canyon when the fast-moving flames overran their position. The flames were so intense that their emergency shelters were not enough to protect them. One man, Brendan McDonough, who was assigned to be the crew’s lookout, was not in the canyon and survived.On Saturday, June 29, I visited the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center in Prescott.