Authorities have ordered additional evacuations for a brush fire near Yarnell, an Arizona community where a June 2013 blaze killed 19 members of an elite firefighting crew.
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The Arizona State Forestry said the Tenderfoot Fire started near the south side of Yarnell.
The brush fire threatened structures Wednesday in the north-central Arizona town of Yarnell – the scene of a 2013 wildfire in which 19 members of an elite firefighting crew were killed.
Later, officials would credit the slurry drops for removing any fire threat to property.
Two more hot shot crews and 12 engines were brought in on Thursday. The June 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire that claimed the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots took place on the west side of the town.
The flames broke out Wednesday, leading about 250 people to evacuate their homes close to Yarnell, about 60 miles northwest of the Valley.
She says 3 out buildings have burned but no homes have been lost.
Three years ago, the 19 firefighters died when they got trapped by the flames in the deadliest tragedy for USA wildland firefighters in several decades. “Right now, here we are three years later doing the same thing”.
Fire crews from multiple agencies are battling the fire, including those from the U.S. Forest Service, Arizona Bureau of Land Management, the Yarnell Fire Department and the Congress Fire Department.
Bernard, who lived in Yarnell during the Yarnell Hill Fire said he helped people on the opposite side of the highway evacuate.
“It’s awful”, he said Wednesday evening in a telephone interview as he watched a helicopter drop water on the blaze and juggled a steady stream of calls to his cellphone.
They say the fire is 10 percent contained and still burning away from Yarnell.
The latest blaze, which is being dubbed the “Tenderfoot Fire”, has forced hundreds of evacuations, according to CNN affiliate KPHO. “I’m guessing there will be plenty of people saying, ‘I’m not going to go back.’ It’s so hard”.
Florman and her husband, Kurt, lost their home in the 2013 fire and have since purchased another home in town.
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American Red Cross volunteers were expected to open an evacuation center by 6 p.m.at Yavapai College in Prescott.
