A very moving story about the Granite Mountain Firefighters who lost their lives in the Yarnell, Arizona fire that shows their love for all life in their great service. They continue to shower blessings on all of us from the spiritual realm. A Living Legacy for the Granite Mountain Hotshots by Doug Hulmes One of the legacies of the Granite Mountain Hotshots that should be remembered and shared with future generations occurred while fighting the human-caused Docie Fire on their namesake peak, Granite Mountain. Through their valiant efforts, no homes or human lives were lost, and the recreation area around Granite Basin Lake was saved. But this was also the crew that took the call from Prescott College Alumni Jason Williams, Wilderness and Trails Manager with the Prescott National Forest, and created a fire break in an attempt to save one of the largest alligator junipers on the Prescott National Forest. Another P.C. Alumni, Kevin Keith, who is a fireman with the City of Prescott, relayed to me after the prayer vigil at the Prescott High School football field how the tree was saved through their heroic efforts. Ironically, a week later they died trying to save the community of Yarnell, twenty miles away. There is a Swedish word I have learned through my research and translation of stories about sacred or significant trees of Norway and Sweden. Naturminneupptecknare means ‘the recorder of nature’s memory.’ If a nearly two thousand year-old alligator juniper could share the stories of all that has occurred in its surroundings, surely one of the most requested would be the heroic saga of the valiant men in yellow uniforms, who suddenly appeared out of the thick chaparral and saved the ancient tree from a fire started by careless visitors. As reported to Joanna Dodder Nellans with the Prescott Courier, “When [Prescott National Forest Wilderness and Trails Manager Jason] Williams told the Hotshots about the tree and asked them to save it, they headed up the mountain and cut out thick brush at the base of the co-champion alligator juniper and cut a fire line around it. The Hotshots checked on the tree Monday when they were in the vicinity and saw that the fire had burned right up to that line.” The national co-champion alligator juniper survived thanks to the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Today, the great tree stands amidst blackened skeletons in a charred landscape. Our debt to these brave men for protecting our forests and communities, along with saving the potentially 1,000-year-old alligator juniper, can never be repaid. May the tree continue to stand as a recorder of nature’s memory and a living memorial for those who cared. Doug Hulmes is a professor at Prescott College, a board member of the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, and a lifelong wilderness advocate.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:11:33 +0000
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