Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
An Arizona wildfire spread through the town of Yarnell on Sunday. The wildfire was caused by lightning, which spread to more than 8,000 acres from over the weekend. The wildfire is still going strong today and threatened the lives of 500 people before they were evacuated. The fire did kill 19 members of an elite hotshots firefighting crew on Sunday.
The fire killed 19 members of the 20-member Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots crew, which are known for their work of battling the region’s worst fires. The average age of the men was 22 years old, and all of them tried to protect themselves from the blaze by deploying tent-like structures before they were overtaken.
New York Jets kicker Nick Folk, who played college football for the University of Arizona, sent his sentiments via his twitter account today.
To the 19 brave firemen who fought 4 lives in the Arizona wildfires, you are true heros. Thoughts and prayers to them all and their families
— Nick Folk (@nickfolk2) July 1, 2013
When natural disasters such as this happen in our lives, it is a good feeling when the athletes of the world take time out to send their own condolences on disasters such as this. Being that Folk did play football at Arizona and was born in Hollywood, California, this tragedy must hit to close to home for him. As much as we call our sports figures heroes and role models, seeing firemen go to work and put their lives in danger just to protect us says that they are the real heroes of the world. We should thank them every chance we get, not just when they do a heroic act.
Folk, I salute you in taking them time out to recognize this natural disaster and the lives that it has taken of the 19 members of the Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots crew.
Alfred Epps is a New York Jets writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @mralfredepps or add him to your network on Google
