Yarnell Hill Fire survivor: ‘It’s a tough life to live’

  • Source: Tucson News Now
  • Published: 05/02/2016 08:17 PM

VIDEO: The only firefighter of a 20-person Granite Mountain Hotshots who survived the Yarnell Hill Fire nearly three years ago says it’s been “a tough life to live.” Brandon McDonough writes about a life of anxiety and survivor’s guilt since that tragic June day on the eve of the release of his new 288-page book, "My Lost Brothers: The Untold Story by the Yarnell Hill Fire's Lone Survivor.” “I started going to counseling about the time I started to write the book,” McDonough said Monday. The June 30, 2013 fire, fanned by strong winds, burned through brush south of Prescott. In his book, McDonough wrote, “The fire was so powerful it was impervious to chemicals and water or any human endeavor to stop it.” The key question, why the hotshots left a safe zone to try to make it to a nearby ranch, remains unanswered. Fire investigators say the ranch was the crew's designated safety zone. The fire overtook the team in a basin, about a quarter of a mile from the ranch. “I think there’s a lot of questions that we can look at in Yarnell that we need answers for but still haven’t gotten,” McDonough said. “But I believe there’s plenty of people out there still investigating and searching for those answers because wildland firefighters need to know what happened so they can learn from it and prevent these fatality fires.” There are no revelations in the book that provides the answer. The book does, however, provide a minute-by-minute account of that fateful day.



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