Relatório do Acidente ocorrido no Incêndio Florestal de Yarnel Hill

Executive Summary
Nineteen firefighters died on the Yarnell Hill Fire in central Arizona on June 30, 2013 after
deploying fire shelters. They were members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew
(IHC), hosted by the Prescott Fire Department. One crewmember was separated from the crew
earlier that day and was not at the deployment site.
* * * * *
Late afternoon on June 28, the Yarnell Hill Fire started high on a ridge west of Yarnell, Arizona
when lightning ignited multiple fires. The fire, which was under the jurisdiction of the Arizona
State Forestry Division, started in a boulder field in steep terrain with no vehicle access; it was
about one-half acre in size. Responders saw minimal fire activity or spread potential, and they
had several safety concerns with putting firefighters on the hill overnight. In consideration of
these and other factors, the Incident Commander prepared for full suppression on the following
morning.
On June 29, resources held the fire in check until around 1600, when winds increased and the
fire spotted outside containment lines. That evening, the Type 4 Incident Commander ordered a
Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) and additional resources for the next morning. The
fire grew throughout the night, to an estimated 300 to 500 acres by morning.
Early on June 30, members of the Type 2 IMT began arriving. In a briefing at 0700, the
incoming Granite Mountain IHC Superintendent accepted the role of Division Alpha Supervisor.
His assignment was to establish an anchor point at the heel of the fire with the Granite
Mountain IHC. The Type 2 IMT assumed command, an action formally announced by radio at
1022.
For most of the day, the fire spread to the northeast, threatening structures in Model Creek and
Peeples Valley. Around 1550, the wind shifted and the fire started pushing aggressively to the
southeast, toward Yarnell. Fire resources shifted to resident evacuation and structure protection
in town. Only the Granite Mountain IHC remained out on the ridge, on the southwest perimeter
of the fire. Personnel who communicated with the Granite Mountain IHC knew the crew was in
the black at that time and assumed they would stay there. No one realized that the crew left
the black and headed southeast, sometime after 1604. At 1630, thunderstorm outflows reached
the southern perimeter of the fire. Winds increased substantially; the fire turned south and
overran the Granite Mountain IHC at about 1642.
* * * * *
There is a gap of over 30 minutes in the information available for the Granite Mountain IHC.
From 1604 until 1637, the Team cannot verify communications from the crew, and we have
almost no direct information for them. There is much that cannot be known about the crew’s
decisions and actions prior to their entrapment and fire shelter deployment at around 1642.
Yarnell Hill Fire Serious Accident Investigation 1