PRESCOTT, Ariz. — As darkness fell over the mountains and more than 550 firefighters battled a deadly blaze in nearby Yarnell, about 3,000 people gathered at the high school football field Tuesday evening to honor the 19 firefighters who died on the fire line.
People held handmade signs reading, "We stand united," "We love our 19 heroes," or simply "19." Many wore purple ribbons and clothes in memory of the fallen.
Relatives of the lost firefighters, including widow Juliann Ashcraft, who spoke with The Times earlier in the day, sat near a stage in the center of the field.
As the service began, the Rev. John Dickerson asked the families to stand and face the packed field and bleachers.
"We want you to know we love you and we're here to support you," he said as the crowd applauded.
Many of the firefighters who died Sunday were in their 20s. Some had young families.
"We will tell their children for years to come, 'Your daddy is a hero,'" Dickerson said. "Your loved ones laid down their lives. Tonight you are loved by their community."
The crowd included many firefighters, some of whom wore gear from stations in Arizona, New Mexico and California.
Some wore black T-shirts with the logo of the fallen crew, the Granite Mountain hotshots. One man wearing the T-shirt said he had belonged to the crew, but didn't want to speak. He had tears in his eyes.
Dawn Cooley, 39, an office manager in Prescott, arrived with a shred of yellow tied around her wrist. It was part of a local hotshot uniform that one of the firefighter's wives had given her.
Cooley's ex-husband helped start the Granite Mountain hotshot crew back in 2002. When she saw relatives of the crew at the field, she hugged them.
"I don't know what to do," she said. "After things calm down a bit, I'm sure I can get in there and help."
She came to the vigil "to show respect."
"These boys laid it on the line. They don't know who they're protecting." Thinking of her ex, she said, "I'm glad he wasn't out there, but I'm sad that they were."
Nearby, the Rev. Steve Francis of Mountaintop Christian Fellowship mingled with the crowd, hugging friends. He wore a tag that said, "Prayer." He helped organize the event after spending the past few days meeting with families of the fallen.
Francis serves as fire department chaplain: It fell to him to notify the families.
"They're so young," he said, choking up as he remembered their reactions. "You need to be able to hold someone at that time and let them know it's OK to be angry with God. God doesn't promise the world is a safe place."
The families are grieving at different paces, with some still in shock, he said.
"We want them to know the community supports them, but beyond that, the community is hurting. They're asking, 'God, why would you do this?' So this is as much for them, to heal," he said.
At sunset, organizers gathered a bunch of purple balloons and released them during a moment of silence. As they ascended into the sky, a trumpeter began to play Taps.
Near the end of the event, organizers acknowledged the surviving hotshot crew member, Brendan McDonough, calling out his name and asking him to stand. The crowd gave him a standing ovation.
"I was surprised he came — losing all his buddies, the whole crew," said Debbie Habatone, 46, a student and artist from Prescott. "I was really glad to see him there, to know he came out."
[Updated, 9:47 p.m. July 2: This post has been updated to include the crowd honoring the surviving hotshot.]
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molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com
Twitter: @mollyhf
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