Fred J. Schoeffler primary author, Joy A. Collura (bottom section) and Sonny "Tex" Gilligan as contributing authors.
This preferred Title replaces the Wix website size constraints version - LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) - How Crucial Was He With Exposing The Truths About The Early Stages of the Yarnell Hill Fire and the Firing Operations Taking Place in the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor?
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Abbreviations used below: Wildland Firefighters (WFs) - Firefighters (FFs).
Dr. LeRoy Anderson (RiP) passed away in Yarnell, Arizona on May 18, 2021. This is a tribute to a friend and mentor and fellow truth-teller that was Politically Incorrect when it was required, a faithful fellow Brother in Christ, and a strong Mentor, Leader, and Visionary. An informal local community and Fire Department spokesman and community leader. He was truly a remarkable man with a wide range of interests in politics, education, health, and psychology. He possessed strong leadership and human factors qualities; and was always grounded by God, family, friends, loved ones, and colleagues. Whatever he did, he did it with eagerness, enthusiasm, and he enjoyed it. He was a faithful and good husband and father. And a humble man, consummately respectful who gave due deference to those that truly deserved it. He was completely comfortable "speaking truth to power" as evidenced by his insight regarding the YH Fire and GMHS debacle for the benefit of all in public forums in Yarnell, especially with the Yarnell Fire Department and in Figure 1. and Figure 2. below.
May we honor his life today and everyday. He was the kind of man who will be in my heart and soul forever because he left such a positive impact on my life that I will always remember him. He was truly among the best of the best and I’m honored to have known him for the short time that I did.
He taught us to think critically and intuitively and logically. Dr. LeRoy (RiP) was truly blessed with an incredibly brilliant mind, equipped to reach the highest intellect, and yet still able to identify with and relate the often complex aspects of research to discern what it was telling us. He left us much too soon. Those of us were blessed to have known him and talked with him. Without even realizing it, Dr. LeRoy (RiP) qualified as an "Old School" leader and mentor. Thank you for caring and sharing. God's speed.
To be sure, LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) was clearly, boldly, and truly foundationally instrumental in exposing the truths (and lies) about the early stages of the Yarnell Hill Fire, especially June 30, 2013. Much of the data below is derived from our YHFR post (July 29, 2018) on Leroy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) where he chose the title: "How we got here and why is it that we should speak up?"
Our long-time mentor and trusted friend, former CDF and Riverside Fire Chief John Hawkins reshared a post from his LinkedIn account absolutely identifying the remarkable leadership qualities of men just like Dr. LeRoy (RiP): "One of the most important attributes of a leader is their ability to admit their mistakes. Leaders are called upon to make countless decisions, and sometimes things inevitably go wrong. Unfortunately, many people may see admitting a mistake as a sign of weakness, but the opposite is true in many instances. Remember that mistakes are vital to our growth; we often put way too much pressure on ourselves to seek some unrealistic ideal of perfection.
"As the leader, let your team know that there’s no shame in making mistakes, and most importantly, you have their back when they happen.
I have seen people in leadership positions duck and throw their people under the bus when mistakes happen, and this leads to mistrust, lack of inspiration and the fear to try anything new. However, admitting your errors has the potential to strengthen your relationships with your team. Admitting your mistakes communicates in a powerful way that you believe in the relationships you’ve developed.
"The most extraordinary people in their fields have made countless mistakes; they didn’t give up. Instead, they persevered and inspired
many people to follow their example; as Albert Einstein puts it, a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new, and according to Steve Adubato, Ph.D., [television broadcaster, author, motivational speaker, leadership and communication coach] the sign of a superior leader is not that they avoid making mistakes; it’s that when they do, they are humble enough to admit it and learn from them." (all emphasis added)
Speaking specifically of the YFD (in)actions on the YH Fire, consider now YFD Firefighter LeRoy Anderson's Ed. D. (RiP) poignant letter below in Figures 1, 1a. and 1b. (below) titled: "We could have done more......." addressed to the many Yarnell, AZ residents that were impacted by the YH Fire tragedy to rally to the cause, stand together, and counteract the intentional deception and outright fraud that they were subjected to.
Former Happy Jack HS Supt. and Santa FE HS Supt. and BLM Law Enforcement Officer Gary L. Olson talks about the June 30, 2013, YH Fire and GMHS debacle outcome on InvestigativeMEDIA (IM) and accurately posts, in part, on October 4, 2015 at 1:47 am - " ... 1. Eric Marsh (and Jesse Steed) made the single biggest tactical error in the history of wildland firefighter (sic) in general and hotshots in particular that no one can understand or explain…all by themselves that led directly to their own horrible deaths and those of their crew while simultaneously breaking almost all of the safety rules at once; ..." (emphasis added)
Olson's statement is buttressed by InvestigativeMEDIA avatar poster "WantsToKnowTheTruth posted, October 5, 2015, at 7:16 pm - The Yarnell Hill Fire and what happened to the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew was not the result of just one more disaster fire that can be explained using any of the standard templates. Please let me make one thing perfectly clear…the Yarnell Hill Fire was off the fucking charts. All of them." (emphasis added)
Another IM poster, "Marti Reed says October 5, 2015 at 10:04 pm - OK so I guess I need to summarize this. I think that the fact that SO MUCH of the essential truth-based narrative of what actually happened has been so deliberately hidden from the public and the fire-fighers (sic) and the families (who by now have their own “control-the-narrative” games going on) by those that possess the data says that there is someone who is being protected in all of this." (emphasis added)
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)
Figure 1. LeRoy Anderson (RiP) former Yarnell Fire Department firefighter wearing his helmet and turnouts stated: "We could have done more ..." Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP), YHFR
Please consider this trenchant quote from Dr. Leroy's (RiP) statements below (Figures 1a and 1b.) boldly speaking truth to power, Admitting " ... we could have done more. ... IT IS THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN A COVER-UP OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE FROM THE START OF THE FIRE RIGHT UP TO [THE] FINISH," calling out for justice for the dead 19 GMHS calling out "FROM THE GRAVE ... for justice, for truth and for reform," angrily and sternly chastising the alleged Yarnell "leaders" and most acquiescent media journalists acting like puppets (with two known to have quit in protest) while they ignored the key issues surrounding the deadly and destructive YH Fire and GMHS debacle. (emphasis added)
Figures 1a. and 1b. Dr. Leroy Anderson's (RiP) letter tilted: "We could have done more......." in a resounding letter to the Yarnell. AZ community and the Yarnell Recovery Group to do the right thing and seek the truth. Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D (RiP)
LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) and his wife Carol inspired us to partner with them for the purchase and development of areas within the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridors to develop an informal Lessons Learned Center for wildland firefighting discussions, with the stellar idea of incorporating it into the AZ State Forestry YH Fire Site Visits and Staff Rides; while the Andersons would have one specifically for serving military veterans, i.e. "retreat". The first Shrine property purchase plan in October 2018 fell through (Figure 1c.). And the more recent purchase attempt was successful on Easter weekend, April 2021, with the purchase of 14.1 acres abutting the Helms property and sharing the Boulder Springs Trail - truly a "God Thing." It is in the development phase with alleged fairly consistent interference by the Boss Hogg-like Helms, with alleged obsequious, less-than-impartial assistance from select members of the local YCSO. The authors allege that these noisome detractors both and individually have created a hostile environment in order to do what? Conceal the evidence within their several security cameras in an ongoing scheme to attempt to intimidate the owners to cease and desist with their Truth Teller plans stated above and on this July 3, 2021, YHFR post titled: Welcome, Project 10 & 18 United LLC and Project 10 & 18 Intl. to Yarnell, AZ and the YH Fire area (July 3, 2021)
Figure 1c. Detractors image. Just saying ya know ... Source: Thesaurus.plus (online)
Figure 1d. Real estate 16988 W Shrine MLS (2018) listing photo of the entrance to The Shrine and Youth Camp areas where one of the major June 30, 2013, firing operations occurred. Source: 16988 W Shrine Drive, Yarnell, AZ. ( 85362https://www.flexmls.com/share/1qCTZ/16988WShrineDriveYarnellAZ85362 ) That link is no longer valid from www.flexmls.com.
This quote is from the original MLS: "Own your own private ranch or retreat nestled in a grass valley surrounded by boulder-capped hills. Located just feet off paved roads and only half a mile off Hwy 89 in Yarnell. Beautiful gated entry onto [the] property. Building pads, utilities (sic) lines, pipe horse set up and lush pasture area." (emphasis added)
Figure 1e. Google Earth screenshot of The Shrine with yellow pins indicating The Shrine and Youth Camp areas and Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor areas where one of the major firing operations occurred on June 30, 2013. Source: Google Earth
Dr. Anderson (RiP) emphatically writes from Figures 1a. and b. above: "IT IS THE FACT THAT THERE HAS BEEN A COVER-UP OF THOSE RESPONSIBLE - FROM THE START OF THE FIRE RIGHT UP TO THE FINISH." (capitalized emphasis in original and bold red added)
"MY ANGER IS KINDLED each time I see or hear those in authority speak of their accomplishments, of their goals - and ignore the burning issues." (capitalized emphasis in original and bold red is added)
"FROM THE GRAVE I hear the 19 men cry out for justice. for truth and for reform that others will not suffer their fate. It seems that the unjust know no shame in these matters. Woe to the leaders who hide the real facts, woe to those who seek to cover up the truth and sidetrack those seeking it." (capitalized emphasis in original and bold red is added)
"Those deceiving our community are contemptible, they have been partial in their presentations, in their publishing’s, and in their efforts to shape public focus and promote only sanctioned thought. I pray to the God of judgment to clean our community of anyone who deceitfully and wickedly prevents public—360 degree—knowledge of what happened here, why it happened and the steps needed to correct deficiencies within our community structure, training, and preparations. It is our responsibility to discern between right and wrong, between truth and fiction—we must do our duty here." (all emphasis added)
In a word, this man is incensed with what has happened and continued to mince no words of what occurred, including the apparent apathy and blatant resignation entrenched within his community. Rightfully so, he speaks fervently and with confident authority to these odious frauds.
“When you have eliminated the impossible… whatever is left ( however improbable ) must be the truth” Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle and his created character Sherlock Holmes. The author of the May 22, 2012, source article for this quote (Philosiblog - clarity, discovery, observation, question, thinking, truth) first asked and then stated, among other things: "What does that mean? To me, this is all about logic. If you start with everything you can think of, and then eliminate those that are impossible, you are well on your way to a solution. ... When things don’t go the way you expected, it’s time to figure out what went wrong, why it did what it did, and how to do it better next time. That starts with eliminating all the impossibilities, and narrowing down the remaining possibilities, in an effort to hunt down the truth." (most emphases added)
American progressive political commentator Randi Rhodes posits: "The truth may be difficult and may make you miserable, but it’s a WHOLE LOT EASIER to remember. You don’t have to keep re-deciding how to narrate it, and fix it, and keep it coherent and believable, and whatever."
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)
LeRoy Anderson Ed, D. (RiP), a former member of the Yarnell Fire Department, passed away on May 18, 2021, due to lengthy health complications most likely caused by the excessive June 3, 2013, YH Fire aerial fire retardant exposures to the residents of Yarnell, AZ. He is, was, and always will be truly a warrior and mentor, and role model of the highest degree. He was instrumental in allowing us to post his numerous June 30, 2013, photos complete with metadata, which we made into a video (Figure 8. and Figure 8a.). From the outset, he inspired us with his steadfast stance to heed and stay watchful of the Good Lord Jesus and to boldly and courageously stay the course. He strongly encouraged us to do the difficult right thing and to seek and reveal the truth and falsehoods of the YH Fire and GMHS debacle for the world to see.
YH Fire Eyewitness Hiker Joy A. Collura followed those same truth-telling principles and ended up in Court because of it. Consider some of the written Court transcripts from " ... [a] hearing [that] took place in the courtroom of Prescott Judge Arthur Markham on January 8, 2015... in the matter of a request for an injunction against harassment filed a week earlier by Ms. Amanda Beno-Marsh against Ms. Joy A. Collura. the presiding Judge to Ms. Collura and BWS Marsh, who wanted Joy banned from public places like meetings and the State Lands and the GMHS Memorial State Park: "Ms... Ms. Collura... I am gonna basically leave the order in place, but I'm also gonna modify it to say... uh... that... uh... the order is modified to forbid the defendant... that means you, Ms. Collura... from speaking about the plaintiff in any way such as in person, in writing, internet, phone, fax, social media, etcetera. So it's basically... uh... Ms.... Ms... uh... Beno-Marsh is off... uh... is off the... off the radar, shall we say, as far as your talking with anybody. Uh... really... she's asked to be left alone... which means not just... uh... stay away from her residence... uh... It means... uh... It says, basically, do not speak about her to anybody... uh... in any manner... on the phone, in fax, in writing, internets... uh... social media, however one can think about it... you just... ya know... don't talk about her at all.
"Uh... Ms. Beno-Marsh... I... I have to say that basically is it as far as what I'm gonna tell her to... not to do. Uh... I'm afraid that the tragedy that happened June 30, 2013... uh... was something that... that we're all gonna be livin' with the rest of our lives. It's just a... it was a... a kick in the gut for the whole community. Countywide plus statewide, nationwide. One of those great tragedies that just... ya know... it's one of those things that one can remember where one was when one first heard about something like that... and that's gonna be a... a great emotional impact on everybody... and because of it being... uhm... such a... a major event... that means that... uh... uh... people are gonna... well... continue to have opinions about it, talk about it, have meetings about it, have memorials about it... uh... all the different things that... that come along with great... uh... national tragedies like that.
"I'm not gonna tell Ms. Collura to not go to public meetings.
"I'm not gonna tell her to not... uh... hike the mountains or... or go to the site if, in fact, it's open to [the public or not. I'm not gonna... I figure it's up to State land department or, indeed, if somebody buys the property to... to... ya know... have the legal... uh... right... if they do... to say that somebody can or cannot go to the property under what conditions. That's beyond what I'm doing here today.
"And I... I'm not telling her, I'm afraid, to not speak about your... your... uh... husband.
"Uh... ya know... that... that... ya know... the... the fireman Marsh... uh... certainly... uh... was... was a hero... but... ya know... was one of the 19 and... and certainly was a supervisor... and... ya know...
there... there's just things that people talk about or whatever... but... uh... it's... it's something, I'm afraid, that's just something one has to live with... and the fact that there will be... uh... public discussion... uh... public uh... uh... opinions about what happened and why things happened or who... who was or was not responsible or whatever.
"And so I'm not gonna order her, likewise, to not... not speak about your husband... uh... or, indeed, about tragedies or about whatever opinions she might have." (all emphasis added)
The source for the above Prescott Court transcripts is courtesy of the Prescott court system and the world-acclaimed former USFS COF Happy Jack HS Supt. and USFS SNF Santa Fe HS Supt. and BLM Law Enforcement Officer Gary L. Olson's "Our Fire Gods" website: ( http://ourfiregods.com/audiofiles.html ). Please note the additionally helpful and very insightful audio selection options on the tabs on the left of these Court transcripts. These clearly put the entire debacle into perspective. Especially the testimony of Prescott Wildland Battalion Chief Darrell Willis providing feckless, alleged character support for his "friend" Collura, and his less than impartial testimony for Marsh, as he repeatedly stammers and stutters and weasel words his way along as if "he doesn't know whether to s**t or go blind" as the saying goes.
Consider now a recent (April 12 & 18, 2021) email thread from former PFD Fire Chief and Wildland Battalion Chief to current AZ State Forestry (DFFM) Darrell Willis to AZ State Parks Community Relations Administrator Ken "Gecko" Silwa, regarding our Yarnell property purchase and proposed future plans for an informal YH Fire and GMHS lessons learned center providing ADA compliant trails at least closer to the GMHS fatality site for those elderly and or disabled or disadvantaged GMHS family, friends, and loved ones that have never been able to visit and pay their respects to where their GMHS family, friends, and loved ones died.
Figure 2. Email thread (April 12 & 18, 2021) between DFFM Willis and AZ State Parks and Trails Community Relations Administrator Ken"Gecko" Silwa with cc: to Michelle Thompson, AZ State Parks Chief Public Information Officer External Affairs. It mentions Fred Schoeffler, Joy Collura, Tom Ashcraft, and GMHS Mother Deborah Pfingston RE: GRMO park possible new access issue Source: Collura PRR
DFFM Darrel Willis' written transcript of the email above in Figure 2. states making several false and inaccurate accusations and assertions: "April 12, 2021, 10:41 AM I was contacted today by Deborah Pfingston, the mother of Andrew Ashcraft, one of the fallen Hotshots and a member of the design committee for the park’s creation.
"She wanted to let me know that a group of three individuals in Prescott are looking to buy a piece of property along the park boundary with the intention of creating a new entrance for visitors.
"Those three are former Prescott Supt. Fred Schoeffler (who is still suing the state for records related to the event), Joy Collura, a local woman who harassed the state, state land and us for access to the site since just after the fire right up to opening day (she did/does guided séance hikes to talk to the ghosts), and Tom Ashcraft, the father of Andrew.
"I don’t have exact details of the location or the property but Darrell Willis who was initially in charge of the Hotshots and was formerly the board director for the group the governor set up originally create the park in 2014, has more details.
"He is currently working at the AZ Dept. of Forestry and Fire Management.
work (602) 771-1400
cell (928) 925-7311
“Quick background. I worked with the 9/14 till we opened the park and disbanded. The original board and committees all agreed to make the one and only entrance where it is now to give people a chance to experience the land that the Hotshots worked to protect, and to learn about them through the plaques and interpretive information along the trail. They never want a “drive-by” or shortcut to get to fatality site. This memorial park is unique in the world as it requires you to work and earn your trip to see the fatality site.”
On April 18, 2021, at 7:58 PM, DFFM Willis responded back to Silwa. “I have been on annual leave and just getting to this. You have outlined the issue well. I have had a number of people contact me about this situation including Mr. and Mrs. Helms (sic) who have significant concerns. I was alerted via a text from Mr. Schoeffler on 4/7 stating the following: “Effective yesterday we officially own this 14.21 acres abutting the Helms property, 0.54 flat miles to the GMHS Deployment Zone. The GMHS memorial trail is non-ADA compliant, a Federal law violation.”
I have additionally heard from the Helms that a fence between the State Land and private land had been cut and flagging was placed directly to the fatality site.
If I can be of further assistance please let me know.
Respectfully, DW” Notice how DFFM Willis intentionally leaves off the part: "We will offer elderly and disabled family members and individuals a site visit opportunity to where their loved ones died." (all emphasis added)
And Silwa totally ignores the fact that Pfingston regularly trespasses on The Shrine property according to the caretakers there.
NFPA Michele Steinberg, clearly hoodwinked by former PFD Willis, gives some effusive praise to him in her May 30, 2018, Staff Ride article titled: A haunting anniversary in Yarnell Hill approaches. What have we learned?
Figure 3. Map of the Granite Mountain Hotshots’ route up and route down on June 30, 2013. The Yarnell Hill Fire: A Review of Lessons Learned Source: McCrae, IAWF
Consider now a 2014 article about a fellow YH Fire and GMHS debacle truth-teller who was a former Smokejumper that repeatedly warned Joy A. Collura to beware the wolves in sheep's clothing, titled: "Tide Track & Field Legend Charley Moseley (Moses) Was Larger Than Life" One of Alabama's all-time greats" passed away recently. May 1, 2014 ( https://web.archive.org/web/20150116005300/http://www.rolltide.com/sports/c-xctrack/spec-rel/050114aab.html )
Consider now this inspiring quote on how to benefit from properly thinking in order to make consistently good decisions.
"One way to spot a poor thinker is to see how many of their decisions boomerang back to them. The reason this happens is that poor thinkers make poor decisions. And because poor decisions need to be watched and corrected, they consume a lot of time. The time used to correct poor thinking comes from the time that could be used for good thinking.
"Good thinking is expensive but poor thinking costs a fortune. 'Good thinkers understand a simple truth: you can’t make good decisions without good thinking and good thinking requires time. If you want to think better, schedule time to think and hone your understanding of the problem.'" (emphasis added) How to Think: The Skill You’ve Never Been Taught. Farnam Street.
Figure 4. Jeremiah 20:11-12 Bible verse image Source: heartlight.org
For the short time that this author knew LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP), he boldly espoused, and then fully lived, the insightful messages within the following statements, the first by Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author Brian Tracy: "Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position."
"As a leader, you’ve got to live in three time zones simultaneously, the past, the present, and the future. Everything you do has got to honor the past, deliver in the present, set the table for a more prosperous future. And as you think that way, that’s why trust building becomes mission-critical." Daily Management Snippets
Figure 5. Photo of YFD FF Cliff DuPuy and "Troubling Questions" Ten questions about the Yarnell FD and the YH Fire. FF DuPuy talked about YFD Dispatcher Maggie Edmands ripping up her Dispatcher notes after returning from the Yarnell Hill Fire evacuation. Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D (RiP)
Dr. Anderson (RiP) was a strong advocate for and defender of our First Amendment rights of free speech and press, doing the difficult right thing, and certainly, fearlessly speaking truth to power. He alludes to the issues of free speech and such discussed above. Unfortunately, the YH Fire Serious Accident Investigation Team (SAIT) seemed to completely avoid this expected and required ethical conduct.
According to author Perry Cohen in a Medium.com article (2017): "An ethical journalist acts with integrity. SPJ [Society of Professional Journalists] has created its own code of journalistic ethics which was last revised in 2014. There are four ethical standards that are outlined in the SPJ code:
1. Seek Truth and Report It: Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.
2. Minimize Harm: Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues, and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
3. Act Independently: The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.
4. Be Accountable and Transparent: Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public."
The author further accurately notes that "Journalists have been called 'the fourth branch of government,' meaning they are the watchdogs of society and have a duty to inform the public on situations they did not have in-depth or prior knowledge of. Without ethical journalistic practices, we are doing an injustice to society and could potentially damage [our] own reputation and the reputation of journalism as a whole." (emphasis added) That is indeed a high standard to achieve and maintain and one that this YHFR website strives for, unlike a lot of our Government and especially the 2013 YH Fire SAIT and their almost entirely fictional SAI Report (SAIR).
Consider now a telling IM post: WantsToKnowTheTruth says September 26, 2015 at 2:28 pm - directly quoting from the Safety Matters website: "Holly Neill - Gallery July 12, 2015
"Holly Neill fought fire for the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and private contractors for twelve seasons, from 1995 to 2007. Her federal experience includes work on engine and helitack crews, Incident Command Post radio operator, and Fire Use Module member. Her contract experience includes safety liaison for a federally contracted timber faller organization and B certified contract faller.
"Holly Neill is a research specialist and consultant [for author John N. MacLean] on the Yarnell Hill Fire and the tragic deaths of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30, 2013. She seeks answers to many questions left unanswered by the two official reports, by doing data research, conducting interviews, visiting the fire site and related places, and collaborating with Granite Mountain Hotshot family members and others involved in the fire. She believes that a more complete, accurate and lasting factual legacy can and will be left to the GMIHC and their families, one that can stand the test of time. Firefighter safety and lessons learned can only benefit by a full accounting of the decisions made on the fire and who made them, and most importantly an explanation of why they were made." (emphasis added)
Interestingly, and unsurprisingly, you could very accurately and easily replace Neill's name from the Safety Matters website quote with our own YHFR website posts and quotes ... and get the very same intentions, actions, and conclusions.
But where's the necessary collaboration from these so-called informed and interested individuals and groups?
From IMT Sinclair PowerPoint below, the YH Fire SAIT Briefing video:
"Family members, firefighters and many others will continue to pore over the circumstances of this tragedy for years to come.
"Much thought and analysis will go into reviewing this accident to understand, to learn, and to make sense of how and why.
"This account – the loss of 19 firefighters, our Brothers – is not complete."
And "this accident"? Really? Do you mean like the one former PFD Wildland Battalion, now current DFFM Division Chief Willis mentioned in this July 23, 2013, GMHS Fatality Site News Conference on YouTube?
Willis said (12:30 - 12:40): " … just one of those things that happened … you can call it an accident ... " Clearly, "the predictable and preventable" YH Fire and the GMHS debacle is, was, and will always be everything but an "accident."
Figure 5a. July 23, 2013, GMHS Fatality Site News Conference PFD Wildland BC Willis "it's just one of those things... you call it an accident" Snippet Source: IM John Dougherty, YouTube
And darn right "This account – the loss of 19 firefighters, our Brothers – is not complete." And that's exactly why we post on this YHFR website in an effort to reveal a more complete account of what happened and why.
From IMT Sinclair's Powerpoint titled: Moving Forward With New Information - Suggestive Evidence explained - SUGGESTIVE EVIDENCE • WHEN YOU ATTEMPT TO MAKE THE COMPLEX UNDERSTANDABLE AND POPULARIZE NEW RESEARCH, YOU RUN A SIGNIFICANT RISK OF OVER-SIMPLIFYING, MISINTERPRETING, OR MISLEADING. • IF YOU SUSPEND YOUR CRITICAL THINKING CAPABILITIES IT IS EASY TO BE MISLED. • CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE IS EVIDENCE THAT IS EITHER UNQUESTIONABLE BECAUSE IT IS SO CLEAR AND CONVINCING, OR BECAUSE THE LAW PRECLUDES ITS CONTRADICTION.
For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? I Corinthians 14:8 (NKJV)
This free speech issue fairly recently came to a head in the Court system within the Ninth Circuit. There was a recent 2014 Court ruling where a woman "blogger" in Oregon prevailed, seemingly against all odds, in the lawsuit against her.
Consider now the Ninth Circuit First Amendment ruling on Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox, Nos. 12–35238, 12–35319 (January 17, 2014) (Find Law)
Crystal Cox, an Oregon resident, wrote controversial and contentious blog posts alleging a bankruptcy trustee and his company committed fraud, corruption, and money laundering. The trustee, Kevin Padrick, and his company, Obsidian Finance Group, sued for defamation. This case required the Court to address a question of first impression: "What First Amendment protections are afforded a blogger sued for defamation? They held that liability for a defamatory blog post involving a matter of public concern cannot be imposed without proof of fault and actual damages."
On January 17, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, as a matter of first impression, that First Amendment defamation rules apply equally to both the institutional press and to individual speakers and writers, such as bloggers. This was the core issue in the case, noting that the other statements at issue were opinions, which are always protected by the First Amendment.
The Court confronted the issue of whether a blogger like Cox enjoys the same First Amendment protections that journalists do. The Ninth Circuit held that Cox did, in fact, enjoy those same protections. Source: Julia Hilden, Justia.com The Ninth Circuit Holds—Correctly—That a Blogger Has the Same Defamation Protection as a Journalist (February 3, 2014)
The Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press summarized the case: "Kevin Padrick and Obsidian Finance Group, LLC sued blogger Crystal Cox, claiming that Cox committed libel upon them through a series of postings on her Internet blog. The trial court jury ruled in favor of Padrick and Obsidian and returned a $2.5 million verdict in their favor. Cox moved for a new trial, which was denied. The decision in the trial court below turned on whether she was a journalist and whether her speech involved a matter of public concern – both of which affects the standard of liability under Oregon law. We argued that trial courts must not determine whether someone is a journalist based on what a journalist’s job traditionally has been; rather, any test must be closely matched to the constitutionally protected function journalists perform. We also argued that a matter of “public concern” must be defined broadly as well, to allow for a wide range of speech on topics that affect the public." The Court ruling is posted here: Obsidian Finance Group, LLC, et al., v. Crystal Cox. (emphasis added)
The Media Law Monitor blog post, under the auspice of Davis Wright, Tremaine LLP (Kumar, Chase, Rosenfield) article titled "Blurred Lines: 9th Circuit Applies Same First Amendment Protections to Bloggers as Traditional Media" writes: "The 9th Circuit recently became the first federal court of appeals to find that bloggers are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as traditional print and broadcast media when sued for defamation. Obsidian Fin. Grp. v. Cox, 740 F.3d 1284 (9th Cir. 2014). The court also delivered a victory to online publishers by recognizing that their use of informal and hyperbolic language reduces their exposure to libel claims because such language is often protected opinion. ... Obsidian is a major win for individuals who blog, share, tweet and otherwise publish their views online. ... 'In defamation cases, the public-figure status of a plaintiff and the public importance of the statement at issue—not the identity of the speaker—provide the First Amendment touchstones.'" Media Law Monitor (May 2014)
There is also an informative March 16, 2011, National Law Review article with eight pages of in-depth explanatory legal opinions and rulings regarding First Amendment free speech and press titled: "Defining 'Journalist': Whether and How A Federal Reporter’s Shield Law Should Apply to Bloggers." It will assist the reader to better understand the underpinnings supporting the later Ninth Circuit Cox ruling.
An LA Times article by Jon Healy (Jan. 17, 2014) titled: "9th Circuit to bloggers: You’re all journalists now, kinda sorta" opined the Ninth Circuit " ... concluded that, under the 1st Amendment, it doesn’t matter whether the person accused of defamation is a professional journalist, an amateur whistle-blower or a crank with a Web page. What matters is whether the subject of the piece is a public figure and whether the topic is of public importance." (emphasis added)
This is a very in-depth Catholic University Law Review article (2006) by Nathan Fennessy covering a lot of the prior history of First Amendment law dealing with journalism in general with little mention of blogs and blogging, mostly the history of the then-nascent internet venue. It's well worth reading to garner and understand more of the First Amendment jurisprudence. Here are some relevant quotes and legal citations and holdings: "If anyone posting information on the Internet can claim to be a journalist, a journalistic privilege to provide those actually posting newsworthy information with special protection from compelled disclosure is unlikely. [Berger, Shielding the Unmedia (2003)] The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment will still protect the amateur blogger who wants to post information.[US Constitution, First Amendment] However, it is still important that the law provide the same protection that the traditional media enjoys for those individuals who are actively engaged in gathering information that constitutes news for public dissemination exclusively through websites. [Carpenter, Response (2005)] (emphasis added)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever Psalm 23 (NKJV)
In a video format, Joy A. Collura has posted a video collage of all of Dr. Anderson's (RiP) June 29-30, 2013, fire photos that provide strong "suggestive evidence" (a phrase used by SWA IC Alan Sinclair) that there was at least one Firing Operation occurring along the Fuel/Fire Break in the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor. Among other corroborative evidence, the author takes his stance on this probable 'Firing Operation' on the factual-based recent post in the July 23rd article on this website that this is grounded in the fact that Eyewitness Hikers Joy A. Collura and Sonny Gilligan and about 20 others, including an experienced WF Supervisor, watched a video in the Yarnell Library in July 2013 that clearly indicated that a Firing Operation had occurred in this very area.
"Norb Szczurek says October 6, 2015, at 9:09 am - In my experience as a Div. Sup. (10 years) and as a type 2 Ops Section Chief (8 years) I valued the opinions and ideas of the Hot Shot Sup. They were my “go to guys” when things were not going as planned. After all, these guys usually had been there done that more than most of the team players. That being said, on a local level I also recognized the abilities (or lack of) of the local resources. I believe this “hail Mary plan” most likely originated from Div. A, but I also believe it was communicated and bought off on by Ops, thus the emergency scouting for the dozer push. Too many of the dots line up for this to be solely the plan of Marsh with no one else having any clue of what was going on. The dozer push, sending an engine or two to the ranch to make sure GM made it out, asking if they can go faster – knowing that if this operation had any chance of working it was timing sensitive/critical. To me this is the only reason a crew would leave the safe black. And as an Ops Section in this situation it was a long shot for success, but it seems they were out of options.
"So is there fault for trying a last-ditch effort to save the community?
"In my opinion no, as long as the resources needed can get there safely and be safe and effective in conducting the mission.
"As we have stated a number of times, the safety of the crew comes down to the crew leader(s). The decision to move or not to move is theirs and theirs alone regardless of 'the plan'. I do believe that the human factors that Gary has pointed played heavily in that decision." (emphasis added)
WantsToKnowTheTruth says
April 12, 2015 at 5:13 pm AZCENTRAL Article Title: Force out the truth of the Yarnell Hill inferno Published 6:25 p.m. MST April 7, 2015 by the AZCENTRAL Editorial Board ( http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2015/04/07/force-out-truth-yarnell-hill-inferno/25439121/ ) (link provided)
Consider now the Eyewitness Hiker Gilligan's detailed description of the missing video. "Sonny says April 14, 2015, at 11:36 am "Exactly-Donut continues to have a hole in it. There are other questions to be asked of Donut if and when our illustrious investigators become willing to put him under oath. One that bothers me is the fact that there were plenty of backfires being lit–those videos of that rock wall [see Figure 3a. below] and those men in the shrine area lighting fires is enough to make me believe that was the reason that Joy and I barely escaped ourselves with a margin of only about 11 minutes. That also would have blocked the escape route of the 19 once the wind whipped around. From where I was seeing the fire when we left the two track where the men went down, Joy and I would have had plenty of time to escape the route I took, yet when we got to Foothills Drive where my car was parked, people were fleeing like flies with only about ten minutes since the fire was already entering Yarnell and a few hundred yards from us."
Figure 6. Sonny, the video. Shrine rock wall with Collura narrative (Feb 2, 2019) Blocked by YouTube Source: YouTube, Collura, Gilligan
Figure 6a. The two working links for the same above video will reveal it.
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffUfBkSBtmA ) ( https://youtu.be/ffUfBkSBtmA ) Source: YouTube, Collura, Gilligan
WantsToKnowTheTruth says October 2, 2015 at 3:10 pm -
STATE REPRESENTATIVE KAREN FANN ACTUALLY THINKS THE DEPLOYMENT LOCATION IS A ‘GRAVE SITE’.
I know this was discussed below… but in case anyone missed it… it absolutely needs to be pointed out AGAIN. This one statement from Karen Fann ( in one of her email responses to Gary Olson ) lies at the heart of all the consternation regarding ‘access’ to the deployment site. ————————————————————————————————— From Karen Fann: Today ( October 1, 2015 ) at 6:55 AM To: gary olson
…The memorial should be constructed so people cannot trample on the “grave” sites; ————————————————————————————————— State Representative Karen Fann ( and prominent member of the Granite Mountain Memorial Site PUBLIC Advisory Board ) even took the time to put EMPHASIS QUOTE MARKS around the word “grave”.in her email. Anyone who actually believes that piece of ground 640 yards west of the Boulder Springs Ranch contains any “graves” seriously needs an INTERVENTION. I mean it. That’s just 'bat-crap crazy talk'”. (emphasis added)
For those of you that will be seeing it for the first time, get ready for some amazing insight into what happened on June 30, 2013, and what may likely have caused the GMHS fatalities.
DISCLAIMER: Due to the controversial nature of the topic in the following video, some content and/or analyzed content may include subject matter considered by some to be graphic, disturbing, and/or offensive by some standards. YOU WILL BE CHALLENGED! THIS MAY LIKELY TAKE AN EMOTIONAL TOLL ON YOU!
Figure 7. "Lessons Learned"; Yarnell Hill Fire / Granite Mountain Hotshots Part 1. Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D., Joy A. Collura, YouTube
Joy A. Collura provides these remarks with the above video in Figure 7. and Figure 8. Update corrections for content in this video: UPDATED (July 29, 2018, 7:04 AM) All references to Leroy Anderson are corrected to Dr. Anderson and all "Source" credits are to be Leroy Anderson, Ed. D. Example at 48 seconds of 13:48 seconds: "Thank You, Dr. Leroy Anderson, for contributing to "Lessons Learned"; Yarnell Hill Fire / Granite Mountain Hotshots." The photos in this video are copyrighted and you must get written permission from Carol Anderson to use them in any manner. -------------------------------------------------------------------Please view his YHFR article titled: How we got here and why we should speak up at ( https://www.yarnellhillfirerevelations.com/post/2018/07/29/how-we-got-here-and-why-is-it-that-we-should-speak-up ) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 8. "Lessons Learned"; Yarnell Hill Fire / Granite Mountain Hotshots Part 2 Source: LeRoy Anderson (RiP) Ed. D., Joy A. Collura, YouTube
This video created by Joy A. Collura will clearly reveal in a detailed Google Earth idealized image the alignment of this Fuel/Fire Break in the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor and a pair of parallel chutes/washes that lead directly uphill to the GMHS Deployment Zone where they died. This is shown in the Figure 21 Google Earth idealized image Figure 21. Screenshot image in the July 23, 2018 post (link provided). If this is true, then this would totally contradict what the SAIT "investigators" concluded and wrote in their SAIR on this tactical area of concern.
To further clarify and reveal these June 30, 2013, YH Fire photo and video revelations, the authors are looking forward to meeting with Stephen Guerin of the Red Fish Company ( http://redfish.com/ ) within the Santa Fe Complex ( http://www.santafedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Santa_Fe_Complex ).
They are the designers of the "simtable" and the "Yarnell Hill Fire Photo Location Estimates Via LiveTexture" viewed here in this video link
( https://youtu.be/Nx7qj0RHbW8 ) and Figure 8. below in order to render a rather unique and informative, 'lessons learned' product similar to the one in their video. Collura has more crucial photos to share and feels that it would be a most revealing and informative way to create and share them in their unique, innovative format style.
Figure 8. Yarnell Hill Fire Photo Location Estimates Via LiveTexture. Source: Stephen Guerin, Redfish Company, Santa Fe Complex, YouTube (10/21/17)
Mr. Guerin posts this for his YouTube video remarks. "Estimated locations of photos and videos during Yarnell Hill Fire 2013. The first image is mislabeled Air Attack. this video was an early technical test of the optimization algorithms for camera pose estimation. We are assembling a better documented collection for use in [an] after action review."
IM poster Marti Reed's YouTube comments from InvestigativeMEDIA poster Marti Reed (3 years ago): ? "Wow, I just found this, thanks!!! I spent three years citizen-investigating this fire, working over all the photos and videos from it, with the crew on Investigative Media (see my videos). I finally gave up trying to shine the spotlight and ring the bell, since the Myth of the Yarnell Hill Fire completely overtook the Truth of the Yarnell Hill Fire." (emphasis added)
Figure 9. "Being positive ... Don't you dare ..., and Sometimes it is very challenging to stay positive in a negative situation" quote Source: Linkedin, Leadership First website
“It’s not what they don’t know that bothers me… It’s what they know fer sure that just ain’t so.” Mark Twain
Figure 10. Letter (July 28, 2013) from Dr. Leroy Anderson (RiP) to the Yarnell Fire Board members concerning the YH Fire and twenty questions he wants to be answered about the Yarnell FD's (non)involvement. Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP)
Figure 11. Dr. Anderson (RiP) letter (August 1, 2013) to the Yarnell Fire Board promoting the findings in the Pacific Biodiversity Institute published report about the YH Fire, future mitigations against wildland fire, seeking accountability, and answers after the YH Fire. Source: LeRoy Anderson Ed. D (RiP)
Below is the Pacific Biodiversity Institute (PBI) screenshot of page one of the paper referred to by the prescient and forward-thinking Dr. LeRoy Anderson (RiP) below in Figure 12. titled: "ANALYSIS AND COMMENTS ON THE YARNELL HILL FIRE IN ARIZONA AND THE CURRENT FIRE SITUATION IN THE UNITED STATES." Source: July 2013 Peter H. Morrison and George Wooten - Pacific Biodiversity Institute P.O. Box 298 Winthrop, Washington 98862 509-996-2490 info@pacificbio.org. The full 34-page comprehensive research paper is available at the link here.
Figure 12. Morrison and Wooten (2013) Analysis and Comments on the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona and the Current Fire Situation in the United States. report front page Snippet. Source: Pacific Biodiversity Institute
According to this YHFR author, the PBI authors unambiguously concluded on page 5: "The fact that the Yarnell Hill Fire grew out of control was predictable. The interior chaparral shrublands that it burned through are notorious for [high-intensity] wildfire. There was extreme fire weather during the fire coupled with very dry vegetation as a result of long-term drought, high temperatures, intense sunshine[,] and persistent winds. Unfortunately, it appears that insufficient attention was placed on the critical warning signals of extreme fire weather and fuel conditions, leading to an unfortunate loss of lives" (emphasis added)
One of Lexipol Risk Management speaker Gordon Graham's favorite truisms is "What's predictable is preventable." This conclusion from the PBI authors and from Gordon Graham is tragically the same message that we hear from many other experienced WFs and FFs and those otherwise engaged in wildland firefighting and/or Firewising and making properties more defensible. Structure Defense versus Structure Protection is the much safer and much-preferred option and route to take and it is well-defined in this CA OES FireScope article (link provided).
•i
Consider these other informative articles by experienced WFs and FFs:
1) Fighting Fire within the Wildland Urban Interface
(March 15, 2021) Chad Costa explains why firefighters must think beyond a simple list when it comes to the seven wildland/urban interface tactics. Firehouse.com
2) Six CA Wildland Firefighters Injured Battling McFarland Fire
(August 9, 2021) Zaeem Shaikh writes about a hand crew working to contain the northern California wildfire south of Wildwood suffered first- and second-degree burns when a spot fire jumped ahead of them. Firehouse.com, The Sacramento Bee.
According to one of the highly experienced and trained WFs that was on this same wildfire, these six CA WFs were from a CDF-contracted Hand Crew that were "following a dozer up the ridge with the fire ripping up through the brush to the top of the knob, thinking they could just catch the spot fires that spilled over the peak. ... The only thing said at the briefing the following day was that 'there was an [Incident Within An Incident] IWI and the Divisions did a good job. THAT'S IT!!!"
And in line with Watch Out No. 19 (Death From Above) this same WF stated: "Our CDF Branch Directors started [working] in fire in 2012!!!. It's gotten much worse since I left R5 [California]. There's a lot of inexperienced leadership now."
3) S-FACTS Structure Triage Decision-Making Aide
Firefighter Nation - Firefighter Content Directors (3/20/13)
4) Structure Protection Strategies for SPU's and SPC's
British Columbia, Canada - Wildfire Service - BCWS - WSPP - 115 Structure Protection Units and Crews– Fire Dept Training Manual (Very detailed!)
Dr. LeRoy (RiP) persisted in speaking truth to power and following the lead of others like the renowned Alabama civil rights activist Bob Zellner = "My philosophy is very simple; when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just; you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something, stand up, speak up, speak out."
Consider now former YFD FF Dr. LeRoy's (RiP) legitimate, tenchant tirade on the July 19, 2019, RoseWood Structure Fire in Yarnell and the Yarnell FD incompetence and indecision:
Figure 13. Four screenshot images of Dr. LeRoy Anderson's tirade on the July 19, 2019, RoseWood Structure Fire in Yarnell and the Yarnell FD incompetence and indecision. Source: Ezekiel 3: 17-21, Dr. LeRoy Anderson (RiP)
Firing Operations in the Sesame Street - Shrine Corridor
Charlie says March 12, 2016 at 7:01 pm - "I have mentioned more than once that Joy and I saw video of men at the shrine using drip torches along the left side of that dirt road above the Shrine at a time the wind was fierce. I have no reason to lie about that since Joy and I saw the low rock wall and knew we had hiked past that wall more than once. We wondered if it were a Peeples Valley video so we even went back to refresh our memory of that wall to be sure it was the one above the Shrine. Joy even remembers when we saw the video and at that time we did not realize the significance of the back burn being done there. Norb believes he also saw the video. We have tried to find it again but to no avail. A back burn there with winds to the SW would have paralleled Glen Isla and [perhaps] saved Glen Isla except that the wind must have changed enough to drive the fire directly into Glen Isla. Perhaps someone can figure out how to find it–can UTube delete videos and where do they go?" (emphasis added)
Fire retardant hazards and resultant cancers and deaths
The author thinks that it is important to first establish Sonny (Charlie) Gilligan's credibility regarding the harmful aerial retardant chemicals and effects of exposure. From an email response to the author speaks with authority: "Hello Fred--I had to smile about the credibility issue--I have little that way. Yes, I had a BA from NMSU and 27 hours graduate work there beyond the degree in Psychology. My minor was Geology and should have been my major since mining was a second nature. The other are religious studies for MA and PHD that I consider non-degrees since I have come to the conclusion that most of religion is hoo-doo and another design to control populations. The Council of Nicea established the Christian religion some 300AD and gave Constatine a model to win wars under the symbol of the cross and name of Christianity. I did write my thesis on the merits of the Scofield Bible and the problems of modern-day translations of the Bible.
"We know there are good people and bad people in all religions and walks of life. So discussing religion or going off into foreign lands to try to convince people of change of belief systems is dangerous--some of those religions--for example, the Hindu religion have been going on for thousands of years even before Genesis was written some 1500BC. The Cuneiform religions spoke of the flood in a very similar version but earlier and more accurately having been written several thousand years before the Genesis version. Obviously, the flood happened, wiped out most of humanity and the story is recorded in clay tablets and thousands of years later on parchment.
"But we are concerned with our fellows and those that inherit the world for the small-time we exist on this planet. I have always been interested in science--was in high school an honor student and a part of the Science Club. I grew crystals of Copper Sulphate for a project--a study of crystal lattices. So of course in College, I took Chemistry classes that went along with the Geology major.
"I had also attended Western New Mexico University during my days as a young cowboy. Once Charlie shot Frank McCauly off his horse--that job was lost due to Charlie being sued and the ranch in limbo so I was off to Silver City driving a dump truck and attending University Classes on the side. Then in Mt. Vernon, I was attending Bar, doing farm tractor and other work on weekends and a couple years at Junior College--Ina College. NMSU did not happen until I had a mine cave-in that disabled me for a long time from mining or other physical labors. The religious degrees I did after my son Ted passed in 1999. I had attended UTEP for graduate work in Clinical Psychology--courses in Neuro Psychology there after 27 hours graduate work at NMSU.
"So, I did manage a half-way house for the recovering alcoholic and dope addicts--a trying event since recidivism in those areas is so prevalent. Then from there took a contract for a year as a probation officer in Texas doing counseling for first halfway house for first-time offenders. That indeed is like many government offices--was a money deal for the state charging $40 a month and really just a setup where you were pushed to spend as little time as possible so you were expected to see 30-40 people and council them during your 8 hour day. It was really a joke and only a money collection affair since you could only spend about 5 minutes to council (sic) people. Then I went to Alamogordo, worked as a drug and alcohol counselor for a year before feeling well enough to leave that job. Bur out is real in those jobs since you see your efforts to help people are fairly slim where above 90% wind up back in the trap of alcohol and those drug problems.
"I did work as a faller --logger for White Sands Lumber Company --they had contracts in the Cloudcroft Area you had visited when in the area. Then for about ten years because the spotted owl shut that job down, I cut mostly cedar for a rancher north of Alamogordo==clearing cedar trees for his ranch so grass would grow for the cattle. He gave me the wood free as long as I stacked brush--so that was a little of my history.
"I believe your credibility would stand much above my own--You deal with the front lines and are well respected in the Wild Land Fire Fighting Community. Most of what I have gleaned about the deadliness and problems of the chemicals are from the internet and of course our experiences at Yarnell where we witnessed firsthand the sickness and deaths of so many of the citizens there after the fire.
"Things like the Tucson incident are generally locally recognized--real and can be checked out better online for accuracy. Seems no big deal is made of these incidences--crimes attributed to the chemical companies that lie to the firefighter about their chemicals. Firefighters are like the miner--most are hard-working fellows that are just earning a living and supporting their families. They put trust in the people they work for and most of those are even ignorant of the facts that these chemical giants work so diligently to conceal and promote false information about--even hide as we see under trade secret laws.
"So in my estimation, a man of your stature and deserved and earned respect would be much more credible than an ordinary citizen such as myself. Joy's photos and investigative information as well as your own and that of others such as WTKTT hold credence that would be hard for any to challenge.
"You are certainly welcome to use any information I have posted and I hope my posts will help in assisting your good work and intentions to benefit others.
"PS - Yes, and Joy's photo of Dr. Anderson's tragedy speaks loudly--his before picture posted by his after would show the horror of exposure to chemicals. Anywhere the red retardant had landed in Yarnell caused much (sic) health problems. Joy knows and can list just about every sick and dead person after the fire and when they became ill. Too bad the EPA or FBI never responded to my letters and information--but perhaps the Tucson incident and your posting will begin to prick some ears. I know Dr. Anderson would want the best for people --and he would give any help --always did, even provided Joy with some free medicines for her ailments."
The fire retardant and cancer deaths in Yarnell due to the Yarnell Hill Fire are off unequivocally the charts. The author will begin with the 2014-2016 IM posts (Chapters IV-VII) from Sonny (Charlie) and Joy and then to the 2021 IM posts (XXXI). The 2014-2016 Ctrl-F hits for "retardant" are around 300 and for 2021 are 369 (links are provided in each IM Chapter listed).
( Chapter IV ) ( Chapter V ) ( Chapter VI ) ( Chapter XIX )
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Psalms 9:9-10 (NKJV)
Sonny says December 15, 2014 at 1:40 pm
"I did get in a thing about the 40 dying and so first did Joy. I was able to let the board know that 83%of that LC95A slurry fire retardant is ammonia nitrate that gives off a lung tissue killing gas and that 8% is chemicals that we have yet to know due to trade secret. I suggested that since they should have the clout to gain this information, and seeing that they are a fire board concerned with fire things including firemen’s health they ought to find out. Also factor in 40 deaths now since the fire in this little community, would it not be a good idea to contact EPA or the health bureaus to investigate the possible escalation in deaths to older citizens. One lady was very interested on the board and did write this down. Maybe it will help somebody–seeing the [6-page] information report on LC95A states it has never been tested on animals or humans as to its effect on health. They just assume it is good stuff and the gasses and chemicals emitted by the drops are benign." (emphasis added)
Sonny says January 21, 2016, at 11:20 pm
"Good information here WTKTT, that 10 thousand dump was the most devastating to Yarnell residents. Those pilots ought to know that 74 and the count goes on of the death of people here in Yarnell. Thanks for their intentions that did not work–half the town burned anyway and the 19 died and the poisons remained in our back yards. People have greatly suffered from those gases and poisons dumped here. I don’t know how it has affected the animal population but maybe there is some solace in that the plants like the ammonium phosphate or at least it is a crop fertilizer. But some things good for plants are dangerous to animal and human life as proven by that shit dropped into rivers–fish die by the thousands. Now on humans it is mostly dangerous to the elderly. Hitler would have loved that shit and used it on Jews and elderly to get rid of what he saw as burdens to society. By the way it did kill one Jew, Zach Ashoor, age 29, on the respiratory board of Arizona. I hiked him there while the shit was fresh and I did not know the danger. His asthma had his lungs already compromised and I am certain the effects of breathing that NH3 had much to do with his demise. The FS knows more about that concoction than they let on since they advise keeping it away from human habitation. But here they screwed up royally dumping it right into our back yards. I have since studied this crap and you don’t want to have ten thousand gallons dropped anywhere near humans or a river. I will say those pilots were damn accurate in their dumps but religious or not they did no service to Yarnell.
"Zack Ashoor defied the order of keeping away from the fence. He went there and wept for his friends that died in the fire. He was working on a better respirator for firemen. Another hero, not mentioned much–but count him as a casualty of the Yarnell fire incident. (emphasis added)
"Sonny says January 21, 2016, at 11:37 pm
I forgot to mention that I am still working on the secret *8-16% hidden and secret chemicals in that concoction LC95A agent deadly retardant. You can bet it is hidden under trade secret for a reason. The companies that manufacture this, now in Israel but before Monsanto do not want you to know what they are dumping on you and the FS gives a shit less on letting you know its hazards." (emphasis added)
Charlie says December 22, 2019, at 11:12 am
"One of the major problems is that the chemical corporations have put millions into the propaganda to make people believe these chemicals are harmless, yet with all the hundred years and billions put into fighting cancer and heart issues the disease rates have only been increased. Well what do you expect when these things are touted as harmless and dumped in thousands of gallons on residential areas such as we saw in Yarnell with the subsequent drastic increase in illness and death in the village. But what the hell, your friendly Forest Service and Wild Fire Manager will tell you the orders are going to help save your town and are harmless to you and the environment regardless of what happens in the aftermath of his toxic work. But he believes it, or at least acts like he does. I do not know how he sleeps well if he has any conscience at all–but then the doctors have chemicals to put you to sleep with temporarily unlike the retardants that work on a permanent basis." (emphasis added)
Charle says June 4, 2019 at 7:39 pm
"Not wrong on the retardant. The dioxins and furerons are highly toxic and remain in the environment for decades with an accumulative effect. The toxins attack the immune system and wreck havoc on health in several ways. They are certainly carcinogenic and mess up hormone production as well. The ammonium gases given off are lung tissue destroyers. The lung tissue is not regenerated. Cyanide is a poison also created when the ammonium nitrates and phosphates are applied to wild fires. Cyanide ranks among the number one poisons in the world since a tiny capsule of 1/60th teaspoon is enough to kill a 140-pound person. The gases in the ppm are enough to cause cancer. "But what makes these people of wilted conscience that are spreading these chemicals even more detestable (beyond their already knowledge of the "amaging effects on human health) is their methods to cover up other unknown chemicals under trade law secrets. I have no respect for these people any more than I do for the murderers that promote cigarette smoking under the same guises or the people that wilfully covered up the true reason the GMHS crew were sacrificed. What I have written about the chemicals All this I have written is confirmed and can easily be researched on line by reputable sources." (emphasis added)
Charlie says December 16, 2019 at 10:16 am
"Good idea to check folks out before they pass on–with over 200 now dead in Yarnell, you will have to hurry. Yes and I know you figure I couldn’t stand a third death–and the clock keeps on ticking so you better get those witness statements as soon as possible. I think some of your prime witnesses are already gone—look to your left if you are living in Yarnell, then look to your right–Both neighbors will be dead by now and you are likely ill from something related to a heart, lung or cancer issue. That retardant is strong stuff.
"Is Paul stll alive? He lived across from the retired newpaper editor that was fortunate enough to be out of town and live out of town for a long spell before returning. I know he and his wife are still alive since they were away during the first year but that guy next door is dead–the man with the wife that talked a lot. Is she still alive. You can put names to them Joy–they were all on the Northwest edge of Glen Isla with frontal views of the incoming Yarnell Wild Fire.
"The editor and wife had a daughter making a honey tequila–Mormon folks as I remember. They were fortunate since they did not live in Yarnell with their tequila factory. But the editor was the last one on the block so he had only one neighbor to die–and I believe the Witness across the moved to Vegas right after the fire. The fortunate ones got the hell out of Dodge after the fire but no one knew that people would be knocked off like flies after the retardant dumps of 2013 and 2016.
"Take a look at wild land and city fire statistics concerning heart, lung and cancer issues. You will see that these men suffer way beyond what the statistics should be–how do you repay them for a service that assures them a retirement of doctor and hospital visits and medical expenses add a shortened life span. Once you see their statistics you can better understand why the elderly and those with taxed immune systems were killed off at Yarnell.
"There are no long term studies except they do not want you to know that the fish are killed off immediately and the dead zones are being steadily increased in the oceans. They certainly don’t want you to know the obituary list and number of people sick after the retardant dumps at Yarnell. Those politicians are easily convinced that the retardants are harmless when their coffers for election and re election are filled by the corporate giants–like advertising, just a part of their budget to buy politicans–doing business has its costs.
"But the human health and environmental concerns are not part of their idea of costs–the clean up and costs there will go to the tax payer who also pays for the distribution of their toxins.
"Just that people are ignorant of the facts or are too busy trying to make ends meet. Only a few of the old ones and then the young ones that will inherit the mess are speaking out. The fat cats that are bulging in money will remain as anonymous as possible–power in money and knowledge kept from the public eye. And besides the corporate 1% that own the wealth also know it does not matter how much you harp about their polluting ways, people will continue to apply the retardants despite what they know. That pretty orange is great to Americans for its look–even they loved it in Vietnam but the Vietnamese did not–nor did the soldiers later once they began suffering the harmful effects of having been exposed to it.
When people look at the orange dumping they thing (sic) they are getting a good deal for their tax money. I was not until Bill, our Canadian friend did a bit of research and educating himself that he said how he once looked at the drops with admiration–but now sees it entirely differently. Education is a great liberator and even life saver, yet few people actually change. For example, despite the known facts that smoking is guaranteed to shorten your life, eventually cause horrendous health problems, you still see people lighting up.
"In so called free America, you have the right to commit suicide your way–I just don’t want to be the one handing you the loaded pistol–rather be trying to talk you out of it. I know what it is like to be on the heart attack death bed. or having numerous cancerous tumors cut out and other medical nightmares. Sometimes I think I deserved the cancers from mining Uranium, adding to the pollution of the world, but I certainly did not deserve the heart attacks that resulted after the retardant drops no more than any other resident of Yarnell did. I see the dumping of retardant toxins on the village of Yarnell as criminal acts covered by propaganda that these corporations produce. I see the way these phosphates, ammonium nitrates and hidden chemicals under trade secret laws as more blatant criminal activity. Maybe you have a more politically correct term for these actions–I can’t think of one.
"My opinions of course but they did not come easily–they came from lying on hospital beds, suffering loss of mobility, and seeing the many ill and dead of Yarnell, then researching what these chemicals really do. My college Chemistry was a B+ on the verge of an A–that is not an easy course but one that gives you an idea of how chemicals react and how even new chemicals are made once a wet solution of retardant is applied to heat from wild fires. You can even get Zyclon B (cyanide gas) in the mix but the phosphates and nitrates are bad enough for human health and certain instant death to fish but what are the hidden chemicals these fools are adding?. So don’t let the ignorant dispensers of these toxins convince you that they are doing the right thing with their deadly concoctions–they are not! Too many Yarnellites are screaming from their graves–beware of the greedy dispensers of toxins."
"charlie says March 10, 2021 at 8:30 am
An email to Joy- health issues and retardant poisons addressed. Not good to hear–well we both took on a lot of retardant smoke and I am afraid it does not take that much to get people sick. There has to be something in it that is highly toxic and long lasting in the human body. The idea is these days to allow the chemicals since there is a worldwide consensus among the politicians and rich that the earth is overpopulated and needs to be thinned out. So everything that helps and that the politico’s and very rich can avoid will be tolerated without question. How many even mention the retardant in the fire community–few cause they are afraid of loosing (sic) their job and the whole of them are brainwashed milquetoasts to even bring it up, unless they support it. All the while, right in their faces thousands of dead fish have littered river banks and beaches in Florida from leaking Phosphate mines–the main ingredient in retardant. The system is based on fear but then everyone is brain trained from childhood to sit in a hard desk and never question the teacher or any so called authority as to what is real and true and what is not. So we all got some dose of the method and no wonder the mind manipulators have caused so much damage to the environment and people’s well being in order to further their own interests and profits.
I do see how the retardant is a huge killer and health destroyer and the Yarnell experiment that has killed so many there has also left many of us so ill we wonder if we will wake up the next day-and if we do live another day we face it with diminished health issues that makes life a horror story although the most of us try to put on a happy face and pretend this tragedy never occurred. We are told the retardant is inert and the general person on the street believes the story just as he believed that Columbus was the first white person to discover America. Your teacher would not lie to you–just rottenly repeat what she or he had been told before and you dare not question such an honorable person that in my day would whack you with a ruler if you did. These days you will just be ostracized or shunned as a trouble maker if you question the status quo–so little Johnny is sure to find he has been molded into a slave mentality–he dare not question even obvious situations such as the killing and illness caused by the retardant at Yarnell and wherever this toxic poison is applied in residential areas. And certainly do not protest the immediate destruction of aquatic life, fish while causing extreme environmental damage even to the poisoning of water tables and even extending ocean dead zones as it is applied.
So what will the befogged minds allow–certainly one is to promote the application of poisons to the lands and even other secretly added chemicals–few will protest knowing that to do so will jeopardize their jobs. Some will even promote the poisons knowing this will put them in a good light for advancement on their job resume.
These are my own opinions–I know you have them as well–and I will continue to post them and I believe the retardant is just as toxic as bad crew bosses that blatantly break safety rules and take undue risks for their crews just as we saw Eric Marsh did in order to kill his crew.
Joy I will post this on IM–I know your health has been compromised to a great extent due to the many hikes you have made through the retardant polluted environment at Yarnell. We never believed our good intentions would be so devastating to our own health. But then neither of us knew the dangers of breathing the dust and smoke laden retardant until after the fact. Yarnell with the many deaths and illness spawned from it opened our eyes and especially since we have seen so much of it and now our own health destroyed as well. We do have a duty to warn people of the dangers of allowing this retardant to be spread in the environment.
charlie says July 4, 2021 at 11:10 am
You would wonder why I harp against the Phosphate and Ammonium type fire retardants with such determination.
I have plenty respect for you wild land fire fighters–It is a profession that ranks with being a soldier going to war against our enemies. It is fought with dangers that most would not care or dare to entertain while its engagements sooner or later guarantee diminished heath.
So this morning I had an email from Joy–she will help me deal with some government red tape issues concerning the Veterans issues. Veterans like fire fighters were and are subjected to chemical issues that have damaged their health and well being to a high degree. You only need to visit a VA hospital to see the many people and many young you would not expect being treated for various diseases caused by the chemicals used during war time. Agent orange was a big killer of plant life and Vietnamese warriors and citizens alike–in the millions of those while we did loose (sic) our finest young men. The figure of 58,220 is official reports for US military and all that because it was a war started off a false flag now uncovered in what was call (sic) the Gulf of Tonkin incident. That war, however we were a part of from its beginning with the French–we supported them and supplied them with an agreement so they could maintain Vietnam as a free world colony; It is no wonder to the foolishness of our leaders–but on these things we can only have hindsight, see where the lies and errors had caused bad action–then attempt to remedy and repair our methods. That did not happen either in Yarnell–what I considered another war zone–or in Iraq–nor even in the consideration of the chemicals used.
<
> But to the Agent Orange of Vietnam that sickened so many of our veterans, I have compared it to the Agent Orange look alike of retardant. It however is not a defoliant and supposedly does not contain the dioxins that Agent Orange contains. We do not know if they are in the hidden chemicals under trade secret laws or if the heat causes a chemical reaction to form dioxins. We do know cyanide gases are formed although in small amounts-note that the safe level of cyanide in the atmosphere is below 6 parts per million. Cyanide is used to make paper, textiles, and plastics. It is also used in photographic chemicals and is a major use in gold extraction and other metallurgical processes–not to forget the elimination of people in gas chambers under the name of Zyclon B=- I do not know what name Arizona will give cyanide when it kills its prisoners on death row.
Which brings me to Dr. Anderson–his yard and home w like my yard and cabin in Yarnell were painted red very heavily with retardant. Of course, Joy and I were hiking [through] the heavily retardant covered areas hundreds of times because we felt it a duty to help other firemen see the route and actions that were taken by the GMHS crew to get them trapped in a death canyon. We refused no one that had interest, including media–those whom should be on any front line whether war or fire fighting and are where they can. Facts publicly exposed are the only hope to stop needless wars and killing or to change neglectful fire fighting methods.
<
> I have to believe there is a chemical in that retardant that causes cholesterol to form and stick to the walls and also makes the blood platelets sticky to form clots. Heparin and aspirin help but these days and I used very little aspirin except in the first month or so after the attacks when I began turning purple I did quit. But what we say were many people falling dead from heart attacks at Yarnell while others were suddenly dying of cancer and respieratory (sic) ailments. I see the retardant acting much like the Gulf War Syndrome–there are so many different chemicals involved and each individual comes up with a different diagnosis–albeit heart attacks seemed to be at or near the top of the list. Cancer and COPD were also off the chart so that we saw nearly a third of Yarnell dead within 7 years–most within the first three years.
Dr. Leroy Anderson passed just this past June after suffering so terribly. The cancer events at Yarnell were and are slower at killing their victims. His environment was painted red with retardant so he lived and breathed it daily–but he was a health doctor so he was doing all things to keep his health up–yet it has been to no avail.
I had wanted to publish his photo during his last days. His head was totally covered with cancer and so hideous you have to turn your head upon viewing the photographs. He was kept wrapped like a mummy with a white cloth about his head so he only had a slit to look through. I guarantee that if you see his photograph you would never allow retardant to be dispersed on your home and environment. I do not know if it is legal to publish–but I do believe that good man would want the world to see how he was tortured because some idiot believes retardant is safe or else does not give a shit and is making profit at the expense of peoples health and lives.
I will continue to complain–our restrictions of the first amendment by keeping media at bay, our touting of certain people that err as heroes when they kill, and our allowing of toxic and secret chemicals to douse human environments is equal to allow murders to run free. Our hope is through the good and honest Journalists and Media people that these wrongs will be corrected."
charlie says July 19, 2021 at 11:37 am
The following is about PFAS chemnicals (sic) used in fire fighiting (sic) retardants, plastic making, and many other industrial processes. From RTI testing laboratories who do work for EPA and others to test soil and drinking water toxicity–
“PFAS compounds, especially the longer chain chemicals, do not easily degrade and can persist in the environment for a significant amount of ime. Due to widespread use, PFAS such as PFOS and PFOA are prevalent throughout the environment, resulting in contamination of drinking water, surface water, and soil. The highest concentrations are typically encountered in areas in close proximity to facilities where firefighting training has occurred, industrial production facilities, and discharge from waste water treatment plants (both in effluents and bio solids) As a result of their widespread presence in the environment, human exposure to PFAS compounds occurs through use of commercial products, drinking water, air, and dust. Studies have indicated that these compounds are present in virtually all individuals. PFAS have been linked to potential health effects including cancer, disruption of endocrine activity, reduced immune system function and impairment of various organs.”
I remember Chuck [Tidey]of Yarnell who had been a former helicopter pilot and hero of the town –often helping and informing locals about the problems of the Yarnell Fires and getting aid to them and also leader of many town meetings involving the fire damage.
The fire people did him a great favor by inundating his home on the north end of town with copious amounts of foam retardant–as I was told by certain individuals who resided near his residence. It was not many months after the fire that Chuck actually announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer–I was at that town meeting so I know he did. By now, if he is still alive, I wonder if he also has come down with heart failure, cancer or COPD.
Chuck is one among many in Yarnell that have suffered–yet I wonder if he would even consider that the retardant sprayed on his home would have anything to do with his disease. Yet the testing lab says you need to beware of the soils near where the firefighters train using the retardants.
<
> Denial and just as we shadowed the killing of the 19 GMHS crew by bad bosses, so are we shadowing the disasters of continued dumping of these chemicals in our environment. We have no concern for those individuals outside our own greeding (sic) self serving interests–our children that inherit our methods and the sacred life of the planet and its delicate eco system. <
> They have fine tuned their methods so that perceptions are created among the populace to support their evil. Yet there is hope–some Journalists and only a few will not be bought–they will research and continue to expose the lies and defend the truth. There are a few brave men/women of good character left.
Thanks John Daugherty–you have been a great example to all who would seek the truth.
charlie says July 14, 2021 at 11:40 am -
I have had a great interest in why so many died at Yarnell after the wild land fires of 2013 and 2015, both of which resulted in extreme inundation of the town residences with retardant also as well as surrounding the town with copious amounts of the deadly substance. I had long ago attributed the many deaths and illnesses after these retardant dispersions but I could understand how they could be connected to the many heart attacks we were seeing in friends and neighbors within even the first year after the attack on the town with the dreaded red and orange Phos Chek retardant. I had a personal interest in the heart attack situation since I had fallen dead in the VA parking lot less than 5 minutes after leaving a visit with two Cardiologists there.
Joy and I had hiked over a hundred times with wild land firemen, media and others including the federal death investigators through the retardant residues and I as well during the time and years after was living in a cabin that had also direct retardant hits on the cabin and yard.
<
> Do not think I write for sympathy–I write about these problems because people need to understand the dangers of retardant and it may well save some of you the misery caused by those deadly toxins in the retardant–some so deadly they hide them under trade secret laws.
One I suspect that is there under trade secret laws is PFAS– Scientific studies have provided “strong evidence” linking PFAS exposure to elevated cholesterol, thyroid disease, damage to the liver and kidneys, effects on fertility and low birth weight, according to Schaider. Research also suggests that exposure to PFAS chemicals might suppress the immune systems of young children, potentially making vaccines less effective.
Did you notice the formation of elevated cholesterol? PFAS are called “forever chemicals” –they are flouro carbons invented in the thirties–are very stable and hang around in the environment as well as a contaminant in ground waters where they do not degrade. They are especially useful in retardant formulas and fire fighting foams–Obama OK’d them when for fracking as well–so copious amounts were pumped into ground waters.
<
> It is amazing what these chemicals can do–and the medical profession will prescribe some that will likely help you if you can handle the side effects–or as they say the benefits outweigh the side effects. Despite the remaining uncertainty, scientists have found that PFAS chemicals affect “every major organ in the human body, So where are they found?
” PFAS chemicals were invented in the 1930s, and found to have some useful qualities for consumer products because they repel oil, water and grease. Companies used these chemicals in many common items, like paper food packaging (think microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes), stain-proof rugs, waterproof clothing, some types of dental floss and nonstick cookware.”
The EPA has found widespread contamination of groundwaters with PFSA. Yet the heavy dumping and continued use of this substance goes on. With wild fires now increased to almost double last years burning you can expect more contamination of the environment. But as the behind the back EPA would say or any doctor will tell you –we must weigh the benefits against the effects. And with past records the EPA high officials went right into jobs with the very people they were investigating. That is how the system works, like it or not. However, the common citizen can attempt to avoid those chemicals such as retardant and the less of them you inhale, drink, eat or allow to contact your skin the better your survival rate and the less your doctor visits.
Slainte- May the good gods of the Irish light your paths–or your own gods if you prefer. (emphasis added)
What are the health and environmental impacts of fire retardant? InvestigativeMEDIA September 5, 2021, By John Dougherty
By a regular contributor [most likely Sonny Gilligan]:
Our concern is why so many died–about a third of the town of Yarnell with only 645 residents have deceased at this time in only 8 years. The ratio of deaths per 100,000 in the US for 2013 was 732:100000. That then for 645 resident[s] should mean that there should have been a ratio of 4.7 deaths in 645 residents. If you multiply that by 8 you come up with only 37 people should have died there in 8 years. Folks, withing (sic) the first couple years there were already about a hundred deaths. By 2015 the second fire called the Tenderfoot fire required more retardant dumping to add to the hundreds of thousands of gallons that had colored the town during the Yarnell killer fire of 2013.
Looking at it at another way–there were over the 8 years 6-7 times as many deaths than should have been at Yarnell. That does not include the illness caused by the retardant–and as a long time fireman told me–he could only look at the photo of Dr. Anderson a few seconds without turning away. It is traumatic just viewing the photo. Of course there are plenty that will refute the idea that retardant has had anything to do with the deaths and sickness at Yarnell. However they can not deny that fish are instantly killed from even small amounts of the retardant, nor the fact that EPA has already spent more than 140 million dollars cleaning up phosphate dumps from abandoned mine dump seepage into waters in Florida. The ground waters there are being contaminated with the phosphates–the main ingredient of your retardant.
But our major concern are the hidden ingredients under trade secret laws. I suspect they are Fluorocarbons–PFC’s–banned in most European countries. They have many uses and are excellent fire retardant chemicals–used in plastics, treating cloths for fire retardant safety, fire retardant foams, plastics and numerous other uses. They are organic compounds soluable (sic) in water and cumulative in human organic systems. Maybe they will make you immune to Covid 19 since they are so deadly but they also are known to thicken your blood platelets so cholesterol sticks to your arteries and can eventually cause heart failure.
Have you not noticed how much more firemen suffer heart attacks than the general population. Many of the deaths at Yarnell, including my own some months after the first dumping of 2013, were due to heart attack–plugged arteries. The retardant seems to have a fertilizing effect on cancer as well.
Carbon is of course an inert element but Florine is one of the most deadly substances on earth. The pilots that haul it in barrels for water treatment plants will tell you that they can not even touch the barrels without special gloves and hazmat equipment. To do so requires a report and immediate medical attention. The barrels are bright yellow with the black skull and bones warning labels everywhere on them.
Most of these chemicals were Monsanto originals. If you want to see their long criminal history of chemical dispersion and death and disease causal–it is there. But of course they pay fines as a part of business expense–there is not conscience, nor does anyone get prosecuted for the death and sickness they cause. They obviously care less about lives, but that is the corporate attitude. Monsanto sold out to another corporation and that corporation sold out to an Israeli outfit that now produces much of the world’s retardant poisons.
If you want to know the great injustice, not only to citizens whose yards and homes are laden with chemical retardant during fires, it is that these chemicals in as much as 15% of the retardant are kept secret under trade secret laws. Neither the citizen nor the fire fighter knows what he is being contaminated with. A doctor can know but can not publicize it.
Now if you do not understand the gravity of the situation–California waters are now in many areas so contaminated with phosphates and fluorocarbons from retardant run off that whole aquifers are becoming useless for human hydration. EPA is now spending millions there to clean up lands –especially around airports where firemen practice and use much retardant.
The government surely knows this–and sending a fireman or wild land fire fighter into these dangerous chemicals is a guarantee that his life will be shortened just as so many citizens had at Yarnell. I do not know how compensation is due the fire men subjected to these dangerous chemicals, but certainly there needs to be an adjustment in pay and education to the real truth of what they are facing.
As I see it and cowboy commons sense says don’t get trapped in a canyon above a raging fire near and keep your self (sic) away from the retardant chemicals if you value your health.
“It’s only by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original idea. By giving my brain a chance to make associations, draw connections, take me by surprise” — William Deresiewicz (is an American author, essayist, and literary critic, who taught English at Yale University from 1998 to 2008)
"Norb Szczurek says July 30, 2015, at 4:21 pm - Yep, and I am onboard with not pointing fingers – but we need to recognize the mistakes made. 19 trained firefighters don’t die without some mistakes being made. I know that is difficult to identify those mistakes without associating them to someone, but its (sic) not okay to say nobody did anything wrong."
(emphasis added)
Robert the Second says
Below is a link to MANY links on the Human Factors related to avalanche incidents and fatalities. The close comparison to wildland fire fatalities is quite revealing. (http://www.avalanche.org/moonstone/decision-making )
Figure 14. Thomas Sowell's emotions and feelings quote. Source: Pinterest
Figure 15. Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21) Source: Heartlight
Reconsider what Randi Rhodes stated at the outset of this post: "The truth may be difficult and may make you miserable, but it’s a WHOLE LOT EASIER to remember. You don’t have to keep re-deciding how to narrate it, and fix it, and keep it coherent and believable, and whatever."
Now to address and answer the question of the YHFR title post: "LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) - How Crucial Was He With Exposing The Truths About The Early Stages of the Yarnell Hill Fire and the Firing Operations Taking Place in the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor?"
Our good and faithful friend, husband, father, courageously Christian, mentor LeRoy Anderson Ed. D. (RiP) - by boldly and confidently speaking truth to power, was extremely instrumental in exposing the truths about the early stages of the Yarnell Hill Fire and the several Firing Operations taking place, with the most critical occurring in the Sesame Street and Shrine Corridor with his and Carol's respective cell phone and camera photos with accurate metadata. These photos and the videos in Figure 7. and Figure 8. were a linchpin in the early stages of this YHFR website. And so much more with helping to expose the blatant cover-up, lies, and whitewash of the entire YH Fire and GMHS debacle; the most egregious in wildland fire history. And it extends all the way from the initial and extended attack forces to the IMT to the local Yarnell Hill Fire Recovery Group officials, to local "inhabitants," to alleged "investigators," and so many more.
10-3-21 3:33pm: I, Joy A. Collura, had zero to do with the post above but this is my contribution personally here below.
Dr. Leroy Anderson was once my colon doctor when I lived in Chandler for alternative colon health methods. I had not seen him for a long time because I moved to Congress, Arizona.
The next time I would see him was when Sonny and I had spent time on the trails after the YHF 2013. I interviewed him. He stated he was impressed by my purity in gathering and sharing on the YHF publicly.
It took years before he opened up fully publicly.
If you all saw the images of his 2021, you would rethink how you all fight Wildland Fires and he has not been the only case.
Thank you Dr. Leroy and Carol for this card when I graduated to become a Wildland Firefighter in 2019 when they knew my health issues that month.
I know Yarnell Resident, Dj Helm, has (un)intentionally told lies this Spring / Summer 2021 about me and in that she said to authorities I am not a Firefighter and much more. Why DJ? What did I ever do to you? Remember, we need to lead ... not lead the blind to lost roads and paths. I am always here though DJ if you want to talk. You are in my prayers. Here is that card:
If you right click and click "print" and save as PDF- 90 pages.
© (All Rights Reserved) ( www.yarnellhillrevelations.com ) Disclaimer Copyright 2018
Update October 5th 12:58am- Fred J. Schoeffler has my full permission to use any and all content from "Dr. LeRoy Anderson (RiP) How Crucial Was He Exposing The Truths About The Early Stages of YH Fire?" on his new "Project 10 and 18 United" / "Project 10 and 18 International" blog he is creating.- Joy A. Collura
Update November 22, 2021, 8:32 PM FJS added this paragraph - Charlie says June 4, 2019 at 7:39 pm "Not wrong on the retardant. ... All this I have written is confirmed and can easily be researched on line by reputable sources."
Updated December 23, 2021 3:44pm-
redacted her personal section to just me---this part omitted.
