Florida State Forester Jim Karels has been named the lead investigator for the review of the tragic deaths of 19 firefighters in Arizona this week. The Arizona State Forestry Division announced the members of the Yarnell Hill Investigation Team that will investigate the deaths of the Granite Mountain Hotshots killed Sunday in the Yarnell Hill Fire. The investigation begins immediately.
“Our hearts go out to the people of Arizona, especially to the families of the 19 men who tragically lost their lives while protecting the lives of others,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “Jim Karels is a nationally recognized firefighter who will use his decades of experience to lead this team to better understand what happened and how to possibly prevent such a terrible loss in the future.”
A wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona, northwest of Phoenix, claimed the lives of 19 wildland firefighters on Sunday. The fire started on Friday and spread to more than 6,000 acres in two days. Sunday was the deadliest day for U.S. firefighters since Sept. 11, 2001, and the deadliest wildfire since 1933.
Karels will lead the independent investigation, and Mike Dudley, Acting Director of Cooperative Forestry of the U.S. Forest Service, will be the secondary team lead. Others participating in the investigation include the U.S. Forest Service Missoula Technology and Development Center, the Missoula Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management and the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The local liaisons to the nine-member Yarnell Hill Investigation Team are Arizona State Forester Scott Hunt and Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo.
Karels, appointed Florida State Forester in 2008, is director of the Florida Forest Service, which manages 1 million acres of public forestland while protecting more than 26 million acres of homes, forestland, and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire.
From The Florida Department Of Agriculture: https://www.freshfromflorida.com/newsroom/press/2013/07032013.html