HikeArizona.COM

CannondaleKid wrote:Obama pledged to support & Biden reiterated that commitment at the memorial service only for it to appear they offered platitudes but nothing of substance.

:SB:

A Granite Mountain Hotshot’s Father Says the Blaze That Incinerated His Son Could’ve Been Controlled : http://www.investigativemedia.com/a-gra ... ontrolled/

Yarnell Hill Fire: The Granite Mountain Hotshots Never Should’ve Been Deployed, Mounting Evidence Shows : http://www.investigativemedia.com/yarne ... e-shows-2/

I read that New Times article earlier today-- its a total shame that any of this happened.

Video dedicated to the Yarnell 19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... RVYRGggQww

Full Serious Accident Investigation : http://www.investigativemedia.com/wp-co ... Report.pdf

Randomly bounced across this on Youtube. Video shot by hotshot Christopher Mackenzie about 30 minutes before the Granite Mountain IHC was entrapped.

Notice that they are in the black zone (burned area) a safe area. Why they moved from there will always be a mystery.

I would like to know more info about the reported position of them being "in the black". Terrain type, amount of vegetation left over etc. A large fire front moving 4 miles in twenty minutes and the amount of smoke it generated they may not have survived in this black. With the reported winds and the amount of smoke, I do not think an air drop would have been successful. I am still reviewing the final report and other info as it becomes available.

Alston Neal wrote:Notice that they are in the black zone (burned area) a safe area. Why they moved from there will always be a mystery.

Based on that piece in the New Times (not sure if it ever got posted on HAZ), I think it's a reasonable assumption that they moved from the black zone in an attempt to "save" that nearby ranch.

The thing I don't understand, coming from a military background, is if you are being overrun and you are screwed no matter what, you call artillery directly in on your own position. They may not have been able to do that, so what I don't understand is why the air tanker didn't just drop in a likely spot and hope for the best. It couldn't have made the situation worse, and might have made it better ...

kingsnake wrote: what I don't understand is why the air tanker didn't just drop in a likely spot and hope for the best..

Scanning earlier posts, the fire head was moving very quickly, so winds were up and possibly erratic. Tankers and air support tend to be grounded on days like that. Remember the Schultz Fire? Some people questioned why tankers weren't deployed, and it was due to the very nature of what was pushing the explosive growth of that fire: wind.

At Yarnell, there was a tanker of some sort over the incident as it occured. And Air Attack had received authorization to drop at will, and were attempting to contact Granite Mountain to get a location. to drop. They ever got the location. Why? They were dying. (see pages 26+.) They were screwed. Personally, if some guy is dying, I would not be waiting. I'd drop where I thought best, hope it worked, and deal with the consequences later.

State report suggests right hand fine left hand: http://wildfiretoday.com/2013/12/04/sta ... -division/

Just terrible news all around:
https://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/second-y ... sions/view

Having read the second report, and looked at the photos and maps, and monitored blog posts by Joy Collura (the hiker GMIHC bumped into), I think Marsh was ordered to come off the mountain to help protect Yarnell. It just hasn't come out yet who gave the order. Check out threads on http://wildfiretoday.com and http://www.investigativemedia.com ... Hah. Just went to the latter, and bango!, I was right (read "request" as order, because superiors don't make "requests" ...)

The second report is the OHSA report ? Lot of unanswered questions and various folks and agencies have not been totally forthcoming with all information.

Yes, the second report is ADOSHA (Arizona Department of OSHA). I'll upload it. It's in three parts.

Just came across this yesterday and wasn't sure where to put it. Some of it is difficult, but I thought I'd share the link. Sounds like there was quite a bit of confusion.
http://www.koaa.com/news/yarnell-tragedy-last-calls/

Weather Channel documentary on the fire: http://player.vimeo.com/video/82920041

Investigative documentation, obtained via an Arizona Public Records Law request, including hundreds of photos and videos: http://www.investigativemedia.com/yarne ... mentation/