It has now been five years since 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona.
This year, they’re being honored in an unusual way.
On June 23, Jose Zambrano, a firefighter from El Segundo, California, began a run to the Hotshots’ memorial in Yarnell.
He left the LA County Fire Museum in Bellflower—that’s where they have one of the Hotshots’ buggies.
He expects to arrive at the memorial on June 30, the date the men lost their lives.
Fireman Joe, as he’s become known, is running the way he has run many other such treks: in full turnout gear.
He’s raising funds for the Kevin Woyjeck Explorers for Life Association, which was started to honor Kevin, who lost his life fighting the fire.
Follow the run here.
Here’s his route:
* Day 1: 9:00-9:30 AM
LA County Fire Museum,
16400 Bellflower Blvd. Bellflower, Ca 90706.
To:
Corona Fire Department, St. #4
915 McKinley St.
Corona Ca,92879
* Day 2: 9:00 AM
Corona Fire Department, St. #4
915 McKinley St.
Corona, Ca, 92879
To:
Morongo Reservation Fire Department.
11581 Potrero Rd.
Banning, Ca, 92220
* Day 3: TBD
Morongo Reservation Fire Department.
11581 Potrero Rd.
Banning, Ca, 92220
To:
San Bernardino County Fire Department, St. 44
6560 Adobe Rd. Twentynine Palms,Ca, 92277
* Day 4: TBD
San Bernardino County Fire Department, St 44
6560 Adobe Rd. Twentynine Palms, Ca, 92277
To:
The Split of Highway 177/Rice Rd. & Highway 62, California
* Day 5: TBD
The Split of Highway 177/Rice Rd. & Highway 62, California
To:
Blue Water Lagoon Subdivision
100 S. California Ave.
Parker, AZ 85344
* Day 6: TBD
Blue Water Lagoon Subdivision
100 S. California Ave.
Parker, AZ 85344
To:
McMullen Valley Fire District
70833 Santa Fe Ave.
Wenden, AZ 85357
* Day 7: TBD
McMullen Valley Fire District
70833 Santa Fe Ave.
Wenden, AZ 85357
To:
Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Park, Highway 89, Yarnell, AZ
* Day 8: TBD
Hike to the:
Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial, Highway 89,
Yarnell AZ
We spoke to Fireman Joe before he got underway.
Trivia question:
When was the first fire extinguisher patented?
Answer:
The first patented fire extinguisher was invented by Ambrose Godfrey, a German chemist, in 1723 in England, and used gunpowder and fuses for expelling the liquid.
