Report Issued on Yarnell Fire that Killed 19 Firefighters

It’s been nearly 3 months since 19 firefighters lost their lives after they were overtaken by flames in Arizona.

On Saturday, an investigation into the deaths of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, including Sean Misner of Santa Ynez, came to a close with a presentation of a 120 page report.

During a press conference, investigators pointed to technical problems with radios and poor communication between the men and their support staff away from the fire scene. Investigators also found that the crew was unable to communicate with air support. That kept a large airplane with fire retardant from finding their location.

The report was provided to the families of the firefighters before it was released to the public. Investigator Mike Dudley talked about their reaction saying, “It is everything you would have expected: anger, frustration, and just an overcoming sense of loss. It was a very emotional meeting both for the families and actually for us as we were there to try and respond to their questions and answer, to the best of our abilities, what was in the report. But it was a very difficult time.”

The report also gave recommendations, with the hope that some of the findings
prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The Yarnell Fire destroyed more than 100 homes and burned 13 square miles before it was fully contained on July 10th.