Hundreds of firefighters and civilians turned out at the Joint Forces Training Base to honor two of the fallen firefighters, known as the Prescott 19.
Hundreds of firefighters and civilians turned out at the Joint Forces Training Base to honor two of the fallen firefighters, known as the Prescott 19.
The bodies of Kevin Woyjeck, 21, of Seal Beach and Christopher MacKenzie, 30, of Hemet, returned Southern California on Wednesday. Members of the Prescott based Granite Mountain Hotshots, Woyjeck and MacKenzie were among those who died while battling the Yarnell Arizona fires on June 30.
One of the hundreds of firefighters on hand for the return ceremony was Justin Hinds of Orange County Fire Authority Station 17 in Cypress. Hinds did not know Woycheck, but did know his father Joe Wycheck. While there to show support for the fallen firefighters, Hinds also worried about his friend.
“I can’t imagine what Joe’s feeling right now,” Hinds said. “It kind of reminds you that sometimes we get complacent of the day to day, but it’s the reality of what can happen,”
Dozens of fire trucks lined the flightline of the JFTB, waiting to escort the two firefighters to area funeral homes. The showing of various fire departments in the area, including Los Angeles, showed the bond that all firefighters feel when one of their own suffers the ultimate sacrifice.
“You got departments from all over that come to show their support, to show the brotherhood that we have,” said Gabe Gomez a firefighter from OCTA Station 64 in Westminster.
