Granite Mountain Hotshots: The Courageous Story of the Fire Line

A. Mont.: I found that this book delved into more of who these individual men of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were. Most of them were very young, and I've often wondered what happened to their families following this most tragic loss. The only part I did not believe was well explored were possible theories as to what happened that day. Only the men who died hold the definitive answers to those questions. I don't think their mission was to reach the town or Yarnell (it was not within reasonable distance to even try) but, rather, to reposition and further engage from the predetermined safety zone. Through no fault of their own, unstable weather patterns and winds turned this blaze into a deadly enemy, and they were caught directly in it's path. So compelling and heartbreaking for everyone involved.

United States on Jun 28, 2022

timothy hemmings: Good read

United Kingdom on Oct 05, 2019

andree bertrand: On comprend ce qui c est passe les faits sont bien rapportés le langage est clair les descriptions bien détaillées

Canada on May 17, 2019

Mark payne: Very informative account of what happened

United Kingdom on Oct 03, 2018

Silverado Burn: great book

Canada on Jun 05, 2018

Just An Opinion: Something about this story grabs you and won't let go. Though I never met any of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, their tragic demise leaves me with a strangely personal sense of loss.

I recall when I first heard the news that nineteen firefighters had been killed in Arizona. My first thought was, "How could this have happened?"

Even as someone with no firefighting background whatsoever, I found this to be
a riveting read. In some ways, it is to wildland firefighting what "Blackhawk Down" was to military special ops.

Even with all that planning, experience, and training things can still go horribly, irretrievably wrong, as they did with the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

Such incomprehensible loss. I want to go back in time and somehow get them to avoid going down into that area of unburned fuel. I do not understand why they made that choice. There is only minimal information regarding why the Granite Mountain Hotshots made the decisions they made in their final minutes.

When the fire blew up, few seemed to realize how fast it was now moving. I also wonder if others on the scene initially grasped the severity of the predicament that the Granite...

United States on Jul 16, 2017

AZ Scholar: This is an insightful story about that ill-fated event. As a seasonal wildland firefighter with over 20 years of experience, I have worked with, and known literally hundreds of young men just like these. They are your neighbor, former classmate, brother, cousin and best friend. Many are college students trying to earn money for school. I remember that day as clear as if it were yesterday. As soon as the news was released, I had friends and family members blowing up my phone trying to find out if I was on the fire and making sure I was ok.

Unlike one of the other reviewer's, I didn't read any political agenda in this book. It is a known fact among firefighters that fires are becoming larger and more intense due to a number of factors such as drought, fuel loading and disease. Urban interface has compounded the problem.

I will say that as a supervisor, being a seasonal employee for the federal government (USFS- I was a sawyer, engine captain and squad boss) I was only making just over $15 an hour with no benefits other than sickleave and a little bit of vacation time, and that is typical for seasonal employees. When we are injured, unless we can afford our own...

United States on May 20, 2016