Yarnell Hills Wildfire Tragedy

A reported lightning strike triggered a wildfire yesterday afternoon (Sunday, June 30th - KPHO TV CBS photo above) that swept over a Hotshot fire-fighting crew, killing 19 of them. This is the worst wildfire disaster in many decades and a terrible tragedy for the Southwest and our country. The entire crew were members of the Prescott, Arizona, Fire Department.

The fire also left many fire fighters injured and destroyed an unknown, but large, number of homes. The location of Yarnell is shown below. The fire (called the Yarnell Hill wildfire) was located about 25 miles north of Wickenburg, Arizona. The wildfire affected grasslands and Pinon shrublands in the Weaver Mountains, a foothills range of the larger Bradshaw Mountains. The details of this tragedy are still unfolding this morning.