Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 41 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News    H2'ed 7/2/13

Prescott AZ Honors Hotshot Firefighters Who Perished in Yarnell Hills Blaze: UPDATED 11 pm PDT

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Meryl Ann Butler
Become a Fan
  (81 fans)
Spontaneous roadside memorial
Spontaneous roadside memorial
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


Flags lowered to half-staff and makeshift memorials have sprung up in Prescott, AZ since Sunday when 19 firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill wildfire.

Prescott flag at half-staff.
Prescott flag at half-staff.
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7:30 Tuesday night at the Prescott High School football field.

Located about 2 hours northwest of Phoenix, Prescott is the Yavapai County seat and has a population of approximately 40,000. It is the home of the world's oldest rodeo, held annually since 1888.

In 1864 Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, and the soil seems to spawn heroic men. Theodore Roosevelt's famous "Rough Riders" were from Prescott, and he called them a "regiment of as gallant fighters as ever wore the United States uniform." 

A memorial area for the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew surrounds the Fire Station #7 on 6th St. in Prescott.

Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
Spontaneous memorial at Fire Station #7
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


Some of the owners of cars parked at the Hotshot parking lot will not be coming back for them.

Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew parking area
Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew parking area
(Image by Meryl Ann Butler)
  Details   DMCA


This is the final photo Arizona firefighter Andrew Ashcraft texted to his wife before perishing in the Yarnell Hill fire.

Last photo by Andrew Ashcraft
Last photo by Andrew Ashcraft
(Image by Andrew Ashcraft)
  Details   DMCA



(Image by In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013 Facebook page)   Details   DMCA


Granite Mountain Hotshots
Granite Mountain Hotshots
(Image by In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013 Facebook page)
  Details   DMCA

UPDATE 11 PM PDT:
Thousands of people attended the vigil on Tuesday evening. 
John Dickerson  read each fallen hotshot's name, to applause, and released nineteen purple balloons into the sky.  He noted that "purple is the color for fallen firefighters," and noted that like the balloons, "our brothers have been cut loose from the troubles of this world, to rise to Heaven."
Vigil at the Prescott High School football field Tues. July 2.
Vigil at the Prescott High School football field Tues. July 2.
(Image by Alina Pellicer)
  Details   DMCA
Vigil at the Prescott High School football field Tues. July 2.
Vigil at the Prescott High School football field Tues. July 2.
(Image by Alina Pellicer)
  Details   DMCA



Must Read 1   Supported 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Meryl Ann Butler Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

CEO Ridiculed for Raising Minimum Wage to $70K Has the Last Laugh

The Bizarre Theft of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski's Miracle Cancer Cure

Mysterious Bayou Sinkhole Continues to Cave In: Radiation, Hydrocarbons Detected

Tips for Avoiding Coronavirus

Relentless Bayou Corne Sinkhole Nearly 30 Times Original Size (UPDATED with Cave-In Video)

Sex, Love, and Jesus: A Few Surprises in the Easter Basket

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend