![]() Forest Service, digging fire lines on treacherous slopes, stinking of smoke, scorching their hands. College students spend their summers working for the U.S. In areas of the country where forest fires are not a fact of life, the culture of firefighting here might seem difficult to understand. In the distance loom the intimidating, snow-washed peaks of the Three Sisters, Broken Top and Mount Bachelor. It is more of a hardscrabble town, often battered by the vagaries of the timber industry, its entrance marked by the aqua-colored warehouses of Les Schwab Tires, where many of the townspeople work. ![]() Prineville, located 140 miles southeast of Portland, does not belong to the part of Oregon that exists as a tourist's dream, of canoeing and lush greenery and waterfalls. Behind them, the 11 surviving Hotshots walked with their heads bowed among them, firefighter Tony Johnson, who lost his brother, Rob, and tried, unsuccessfully, not to cry. Instead, the Saturday parade for the festival became something of a funeral cortege as, among the spangles and chaps and cowboy hats, nine riderless horses were slowly led through the streets. This was supposed to be the grandest weekend of the year in Prineville, the weekend of the annual Crooked River Roundup & Rodeo. All of the victims were close friends of Gerke's family. Her cheeks were slick with tears as she photographed an eloquent scene on the courthouse lawn - nine American flags at half-staff, their staffs labeled with the names of the dead. I don't think the town will ever get over it," said Lila Gerke, the wife and mother of federal firefighters who were not part of the Colorado crew. "It's not even something we can talk about yet. Nearly half the 20-member team was killed in a matter of seconds. Nine of the dead, five men and four women, were Hotshots from Prineville. wildfires, near Glenwood Springs, Colo., 14 firefighters were immolated as a wall of flames suddenly exploded and chased them up a steep ridge. ![]() This town of 6,000, separated from the next nearest settlement by 20 miles, paid a heartbreaking toll Wednesday afternoon on a burning mountain three states away. PRINEVILLE, ORE., JULY 10 - In this modest town in central Oregon, near the Crooked River in the timber country just east of the Cascades, everyone knew and respected and depended on the Hotshots.ĭuring the crackling-dry summers, when a single lightning strike has the power to ignite and destroy, they were the federal firefighters who assumed the most dangerous and back-breaking tasks - subduing the forest fires that threaten not just the vast reaches of the western states, but also the mountains in view of Main Street.īut beyond that, each was someone's dear friend, someone's brother or sister, someone's child.
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