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Wednesday, July 25, 2001
Forest Service crew remembered [Source: Associated Press] Thousands salute four killed fighting fire YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- The four Forest Service firefighters killed in the Thirty Mile Fire in the northern Cascades were remembered Tuesday as fallen heroes who died doing a noble and fierce job. Tom Craven, 30, of Ellensburg and Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, all of Yakima, were part of a firefighting crew from the Naches Ranger District. "Our state's incredible natural beauty nourishes our souls, but sometimes with unexpected swiftness it breaks our hearts," Gov. Gary Locke said. They were young people who celebrated the outdoors with a spirit of adventure and a sense of awe, he said. "They were, in the very best sense of the word, Westerners -- men and women who search and dream," Locke said. More than 5,000 people, most of them firefighters, police officers and federal employees, filled the Yakima Valley SunDome for the 21/2-hour memorial service. The image of a brilliant sunset, projected onto a screen, served as a backdrop for the stage, which was covered with trees, logs and greens. Four firefighters' uniforms and gear were neatly stacked in front of photographs of Craven, Weaver, Johnson and FitzPatrick. They died July 10 when a 25-acre fire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee national forests blew up and trapped them in the Chewuch River canyon. The Thirty Mile Fire had grown to 9,300 acres by the time it was fully contained Monday. "These four young firefighters faced unimaginable terror with unparalleled courage," said Bonnie Bunning, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Natural Resources. "Our partners, our compatriots have tragically been taken from us." U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Interior Secretary Gale Norton also attended the memorial service. "Firefighters ... do a noble and fierce job that requires incredible strength and courage," said Veneman, whose agency oversees the Forest Service. "Those brave men and women have each left an impression. They are heroes and will be sorely missed." Dave Leitch, a chief at the West Valley Fire Department, where Johnson had once been a firefighting cadet, spoke of the shock when a friend and fellow firefighter dies on the job. "We understand the risk that the task has, but we find it hard to believe it happened," he said. An investigation into the circumstances of the deaths is under way by a national team. "We must seek the truth, not to lay blame, but to learn," Leitch said. "The fire gave a test before it gave a lesson." The families of the firefighters were presented with state flags and silver pulaskis, modified firefighting axes, during the memorial service. And a fire dispatcher played the last alarm -- a series of pager tones used to call firefighters in Yakima County -- before bidding Craven, Weaver, Johnson and FitzPatrick farewell: "Your assignment is complete. May you rest in peace." Sunday, July 22, 2001
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