I was a volunteer fireman in Westhampton Beach, NY for about seven years. We were trained by New York City firemen and were pretty busy all year long including some Pine Barrens wildfires. Also, I read an excellent documentary book by Norman McLean called Young Men and Fire about the Mann Gulch Fire .
That sums up my level of expertise which is to say it doesn't go very far but suggests there is some experience behind my thoughts. I am aware of the sometimes dangerously unpredictable nature of fire and especially wildfires and I am troubled by a story I just read. Half mile per hour is the pace of a leisurely walk and even carrying equipment (which they would certainly have discarded upon realizing such imminent danger) these hotshots should have had no trouble getting out. Since they are dropped in position to fight a wildfire by truck or plane, the firemen do not decide where they will work. They operate under orders from supervising officers. They may arrive at the scene with only axes, picks and shovels whose purpose is to stop the advance of a wildfire by disturbing its path. If they have water to use, they came in a truck and that truck likely won't be carrying a lot of water but it probably will have six wheel drive and the capability to drive faster than a half mile per hour even uphill. So this sounds like some commander of operations has placed these fire fighters, on foot, in what must have become a narrow corridor between two parts of a wildfire. Everything goes well until one end circles around to entrap. Eyes in the sky and radio communications are supposed to prevent entrapment situations and surely both were available. I hate hearing these stories, and they crop up with some regularity. The news article was kind of rambling so I have distilled and re-organised some of the facts below. Something here doesn't add up. YARNELL, Ariz. - The Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots formed in 2008, Prescott Fire Department confirmed 19 of that crew died. The Yarnell Hill Fire changed direction moving at about a half mile per hour up a hill. The crew tried to get under protective covers, but didn't make it. You can read the entire article here: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/22726613/2013/06/30/yarnell-hill-wildfire-grows-to-almost-1000-acres -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/stratalist-ot. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
