July 20, 2013 Tabytha
Beu
“Lightning Fire Destroys More Than Land in Yarnell, Arizona”
Photograph: Ashley Smith/Times-News/AP Photo
On June 28, 2013 lightning struck a hillside in Yarnell,
Arizona, something completely common.
The fire that arose from the strike was also a common occurrence. What was not common was the difficulties to
contain the fire and the end result.
The fire lasted from the 28th of June to the 10th
of July, a total of thirteen days. The
fire departments in the area did the best that they could to attempt to control
the fire and, despite the denied request for air support, the force managed to
get the fire under control. However, not
in time to prevent the destruction of land and lives.
The fire started at about four acres and spread to
approximately 100 acres in the period of a day.
It then went on, in the course of the thirteen days, to spread to an
estimated 8,300 acres. With this mass spreading
comes mass destruction. 129 buildings
were destroyed and 19 firefighters lost their lives along with 23 injuries.
The firemen and women risked their lives to prevent the
spreading of the fire in Yarnell, Arizona and by July 10, 2013 the fire was
deemed contained though not without loss.
A link to an article about the event can be found at (http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/20130715yarnell-fire-synopsis-arizona-forestry-service-brk.html)
This is an absolutely crazy story. I can't imagine the fear caused by this massive fire. This fire is unbelievably huge. This world is thankful for people like the firemen and women who risked their lives to help stop the fire. It is very sad that the fire took so many lives, and I wish that things like this wouldn't happen.
ReplyDeleteWow, I did not realize until I read the article that this was the instance that got on the news when all but one member of the elite firefighting group was killed! I still do not understand how this could have done so much damage. Unless like the article said, it was just the lack of support that caused the majority of the problem? Another issue might be is that this area is facing a multitude of environmental issues. Drought, bug infestations, dead brush from fires before; and so on all plague the western part of the United States. Like you said, these occurrences (the lightning strike, and the fire that happened thereof) are not that rare, and honestly neither is the damage, but the total amount of ground consumed as well as the loss of such a group trained, and knowledged about fires of this kind is what shocked me!
ReplyDeleteThis is completely crazy. I cannot believe that the government would not give them some form of air support. The amount of lives lost in what could have been a prevented mass fire is crazy. It should not be this way.
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