In Memory of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew

See the Facebook Page in their Memory - CLICK HERE

We have written about big wildfires this year - the Black Forest Fire and the Powerhouse Fire.

But last night (June 30, 2013) we all witnessed the worst news of all ... 19 Wildland Firefighters were killed battling a wildfire in Arizona.

They were from the Prescott Fire Department, specifically the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew.

They were fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire.

They were digging a fire line and building a safety zone with an escape route.  But unfortunately, their safety zone and escape route were overtaken by the fire.

The outpouring of love and support for these brave firefighters and their families has been powerful.

Just 15 hours ago a Facebook page was established in their memory.  That page has over 200,000 'Likes' already.  And that number is rapidly growing.

This is the largest loss of Firefighters since 9/11.

This is the largest loss of Wildland Firefighters since 1933.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers sincerely go out to the families and friends of these courageous Hotshots.

Credit: Julie Jacobson/AP

Wildfire Conditions : HIGH ALERT

Credit: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

The Black Forest Fire in Colorado, the Powerhouse Fire in California and many other wildfires this year, have combined to put Fire Officials in the Western US on HIGH ALERT Wildfire Season.

So they are letting the public know!

Fire Chiefs in Southern California announced they expect this Wildfire Season could be the worst in 100 years!  They blame this extreme warning on rising temperatures, dry winds and drought conditions.  In fact, they're preparing for 2,600 fires across 51,000 acres.

And perhaps the public is taking notice.

Yahoo! says in the 7 days ending 6/24/13 they saw the following:

• Searches for "Southern California Wildfires" were up +2,844%
• Searches for "Wildfires in Colorado" were up +380%

What the future holds, we don't know.

We hope for the best.  But Firefighters are wisely planning for the worst.

Credit: Unknown

Powerhouse Fire

Our main office for Public Safety Stores is 25 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, in Santa Clarita.

For over a week the Powerhouse Fire has been burning just a few miles north of us, leaving us at times under a cloud of thick smoke as Wildland Firefighters and Hot Shots douse the flames.

It is now 83% contained.  But it took...

• 53 structures, including 24 homes
• over 30,000 acres
• almost 2,000 personnel

Here are some photos to tell the story

Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

We are personally grateful to the nearly 2,000 Firefighters who fought this blaze!  THANK YOU!!