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Laurie Roberts: Nineteen good souls gone
Nineteen firefighters gone. At a time such as this, there simply are no words.
Nineteen woke up on Sunday morning and did what men and women such as these do all over this country, every hour of every day. They answered the call and they served.
And on Sunday afternoon, they died.
They were the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the toughest of firefighters who trained for the toughest of duty — wildfires. Even the word sparks fear. It is the most dangerous and unpredictable of work, where life can turn on the shift of the wind or the shape of the land.
Whenever there has been a wildfire in Arizona, these Prescott Fire Department hotshots have been on the front lines. At Horseshoe Two and Wallow and Monument and Doce and now, Yarnell Hill.
These are people who run toward the fire when the rest of us are running away.
They knew the danger, they trained for it. We knew it, too. Twenty three years ago, six firefighters died in the Dude Fire near Payson. Six men who couldn’t outrun the danger.
And today, 19 more. Good Men. Brave men who woke up on Sunday morning and did what men and women such as these do every day. They answered the call. They went willingly into the fire. And today, they died trying to protect us all.
Nineteen of Arizona’s finest, gone in an instant.
Sometimes, there really just are no words. Well, except for two.
Thank you.
Laurie Roberts: Nineteen good souls gone
Nineteen firefighters gone. At a time such as this, there simply are no words.
Nineteen woke up on Sunday morning and did what men and women such as these do all over this country, every hour of every day. They answered the call and they served.
And on Sunday afternoon, they died.
They were the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the toughest of firefighters who trained for the toughest of duty — wildfires. Even the word sparks fear. It is the most dangerous and unpredictable of work, where life can turn on the shift of the wind or the shape of the land.
Whenever there has been a wildfire in Arizona, these Prescott Fire Department hotshots have been on the front lines. At Horseshoe Two and Wallow and Monument and Doce and now, Yarnell Hill.
These are people who run toward the fire when the rest of us are running away.
They knew the danger, they trained for it. We knew it, too. Twenty three years ago, six firefighters died in the Dude Fire near Payson. Six men who couldn’t outrun the danger.
And today, 19 more. Good Men. Brave men who woke up on Sunday morning and did what men and women such as these do every day. They answered the call. They went willingly into the fire. And today, they died trying to protect us all.
Nineteen of Arizona’s finest, gone in an instant.
Sometimes, there really just are no words. Well, except for two.
Thank you.
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