Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park is a state park near
Yarnell, Arizona, created to memorialize the nineteen members of the
Granite Mountain Hotshots
The Prescott Fire Department is the municipal fire department for the city of Prescott, Arizona. Additionally, the PFD provides aircraft rescue and firefighting for the Prescott Municipal Airport. Founded in 1885, it is the oldest fire departme ...
who died there on June 30, 2013, while fighting the
Yarnell Hill Fire.
The park opened on November 30, 2016, and had over 18,000 visitors in its first year. The park, located at the site where the firefighters died,
[ is accessed by a hiking trail from the parking area off ]Arizona State Route 89
State Route 89 (SR 89) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is part of the former route of U.S. Route 89 (US 89) throughout the state.
Route description
The southern terminus of SR 89 is located at an intersectio ...
. The park entrance and trailhead is about south of Yarnell.
History
The park was authorized by House Bill 2624 introduced into the Arizona House of Representatives
The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...
on February 11, 2014, and signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer
Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was ...
on April 30, 2014. Planning by the Yarnell Hill Memorial Site Board began in late November. By April 2015, the board decided to purchase the land for the park. The purchase of of Arizona State Trust Land
The Arizona State Land Department is a department of the state government in the U.S. state of Arizona dedicated to the management of state-owned lands and property.
Mission statement
The mission statement of the Arizona State Land Department is ...
for the park occurred on June 30, 2015, at which time the park received its official name. Planning for the trail to reach the site began soon thereafter. Arizona Public Service donated $229,000 towards the construction of the trail.
In January 2016, workers from the American Conservation Experience began work on the main trail. Construction of a small parking lot at the trail head began in March, followed by the memorial gabion baskets. Most of the work was finished that summer, with "final placement of benches and interpretive signs" occurring in October and November. A dedication ceremony was held on November 29, 2016, led by Governor Doug Ducey
Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
and state senators Steve Pierce and Karen Fann
Karen Fann (born September 1, 1954) is a Republican member of the Arizona Senate, representing Arizona Legislative District 1. Fann became President of the Arizona Senate in 2019.
After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Donald T ...
. The park opened to the public the following day.
Description
The memorial is made of 19 rock baskets or gabion
A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road buildin ...
s connected by chains forming a circle around the fatality site. It is surrounded by a pathway and includes a flagpole. Along the trail to the site are 19 granite memorial plaques, each with a photo of a hotshot and a short biography. There are also memorial benches along the trail. The trail first reaches an observation deck above the memorial. The portion of the trail from the observation deck down to the memorial circle is and is named the Journey trail, a reference to the hotshots' final journey.
The memorial plaques are embedded into rock formations along the trail, one approximately every and are arranged in order of the seniority of the crew. The trail starts at an elevation of and climbs to at the observation deck. It is steep and rugged with over 200 steps carved into rock and several switchbacks.
Hotshot crew
See also
* List of Arizona state parks
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An Arizona state park is an area of land in the U.S. state of Arizona preserved by the state for its natural, cultural, or recreational resources. The state park system in Arizona includes both state parks and state historic parks, as well as ...
References
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State parks of Arizona
Parks in Yavapai County, Arizona
2016 establishments in Arizona
Monuments and memorials in the United States
Firefighting memorials
Protected areas established in 2016