Commander reflects on Yarnell fire tragedy

Roy Hall, incident commander on the Yarnell Hill Fire, talks at his home in Camp Verde, Ariz., about the fire that killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and the investigation and report that followed. Fire commanders, preoccupied with evacuations as fire raged into Yarnell, had no inkling of imminent fatalities. From the outset, Hall said, "Our greatest goal was to establish an anchor" - a defensible point of attack on the fire's flank - by cutting firebreaks and dropping retardant that would "Prevent fire from coming into Yarnell and Peeples Valley." Hall said the crew was briefed at the Yarnell fire station, with an emphasis on caution in radical fire conditions.

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