The worried voices have an immediacy that only video can capture, especially after numerous images of massive fires flaring in the distance. It is Sunday, June 30, 2013, and an elite unit of firefighters, the Granite Mountain Hotshots, were somewhere off in the distance.
"Come on, Granite, let's hear you talk here," says a voice on one of the 21 video clips posted Saturday on the Arizona State Forestry Division website.
Then, another voice is ominously heard: "It's been at least 30 minutes."
"It's a long time," says another.
"Especially in this fuel type."
Nineteen of 20 of the Granite firefighters died that day as the Yarnell Hill fire, fed by strong winds that took an unexpected turn, continued to grow until it had devoured about 8,400 acres. In the battle against the blaze, the deaths of the elite crew were the worst loss of life in a U.S. wildfire since the 1930s.
Officials inside and outside government have studied the tragedy and have called for better training and equipment. Even though the disaster has been well documented, the latest videos provide a powerful picture that government reports have lacked.
The video clips, shot by other firefighters, show increasing concern about the Granite Mountain crew and its fate.
The sequence of videos ends as the bodies are found. The images of the bodies have been redacted...more
http://youtu.be/V6kbv2FT_YY
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