The fire department crew died when winds turned around near Yarnell

Jul 1, 2013 07:35 GMT  ·  By

Reports say that the Yarnell fire has spread from a 2,000-acres (809 hectares) to a 6,000-acre (2427 hectares) area on Sunday night, June 30.

As I mentioned earlier, 19 firefighters have been killed while battling the Arizona blaze. They were all members of the Prescott Granite Mountain Hot Shots, Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo says.

Incident Commander Mike Reichling tells ABC 15 that the fire-related incident is the deadliest recorded in the nation in the last 30 years.

The crews died after using their fire shelters, tents equipped to keep them away from flames and heat.

They were caught in the blaze when winds started blowing in the opposite direction near Yarnell. The dry vegetation caught on fire instantly, Incident Commander Reichling adds.