YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Friends and family of four firefighters who died fighting a wildfire in a Washington forest will honor their memories at a ceremony Sunday, the 10-year anniversary of the blaze.
Tom Craven, Devin Weaver, Jessica Johnson and Karen FitzPatrick died in the Thirtymile Fire on July 10, 2001, when they were trapped on a dead-end road in the Okanogan National Forest.
Ten other firefighters and two campers there survived. A Forest Service investigation later found that fire bosses had broken all 10 of the agency’s standard safety rules that day.
Virginia Craven, Tom’s mother, says she’s glad there will be a ceremony that includes Forest Service personnel and firefighters. She says firefighters still visit her home and tell her they don’t want people to forget the loss.
