The Seal Beach City Council observed a moment of silence Monday night, July 8, in memory of former resident and Los Al High grad Kevin Woyjeck, who died along with 18 other elite firefighters on Sunday, June 30, battling the Yarnell, Ariz., wildfire.
The Seal Beach City Council observed a moment of silence Monday night, July 8, in memory of former resident and Los Al High grad Kevin Woyjeck, who died along with 18 other elite firefighters on Sunday, June 30, battling the Yarnell, Ariz., wildfire.
That same evening, the Holy Family Catholic Church in Leisure World said a mass for Woyjeck, age 21. His grandmother lives in Leisure World.
Woyjeck, 21, was a member of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hot Shot Crew, an elite unit of the Prescott, Ariz., Fire Department. The Hot Shots worked in places where fire trucks could not easily go, including two this season that came before the team descended on the erratic fire that claimed their lives. Only one member of the Hot Shot crew survive the Yarnell fire.
“He sacrificed his life to save others and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Our hearts go out to the Woyjeck family and all of Kevin’s classmates, teachers, and friends,” Los Alamitos Unified School District Superintendent Sherry Kropp said is a release by the district.
By all accounts, Woyjeck had always wanted to be a firefighter and follow his father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, into the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The Woyjeck family still lives in Seal Beach.
LA County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said nothing came between Woyjeck and his goal of becoming a Los Angeles County firefighter.
Osby described a young man who enjoyed what he was doing and was on his way to joining the county fire agency.
“I’ve known Kevin most of his life,” Osby said. Osby had worked with Kevin Woyjeck’s father Joe Woyjeck in the past.
Young Woyjeck was an LA County Fire Explorer and attended ride-alongs with fire crews.
