19 Firefighters Killed in Arizona

Nineteen firefighters who were members of a “hotshot” crew, tasked with digging a fire line and creating an escape route, were killed while trying to fight wildfires in Arizona on Sunday.

“In normal circumstances, when you’re digging fire line, you make sure you have a good escape route, and you have a safety zone set up,” State Forestry Official Art Morrison said. “Evidently, their safety zone wasn’t big enough, and the fire just overtook them.”

Read more at cnn.com.

Last year cronkitenewsonline.com wrote a story  a year ago, on the crew that was perished today, the Granite Mountain Hotshots.  It has photos and a video and details the extensive training that they go through.  Read more here.  A photo of the Granite Mountain Hotshots appears below.