Two firefighters who died in Arizona to be memorialized in Newport
A memorial for two firefighters killed in Arizona’s Yarnell Hill fire will be held later this month in Newport Beach, according to a family representative.
The service for cousins Grant McKee, 21, and Robert Caldwell, 23, is to take place at 11 a.m. July 20 at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.
The event is not open to the public and is already expected to be over capacity, he said.
McKee and Caldwell were among the 19 Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew members killed June 30.
Their grandmother is a 40-year Costa Mesa resident. McKee attended Newport Harbor High School until his senior year, when he moved to Arizona to live with the Caldwells.
On Monday, four Costa Mesa firefighters traveled to Prescott, Ariz., to show support for the 19 firefighters killed in the blaze. Thousands, including Vice President Joe Biden, attended a memorial Tuesday in Prescott Valley for the fallen firefighters.
The lightning-sparked Yarnell Hill blaze began June 28 and burned about 8,400 acres. The firefighters were overtaken when winds from a thunderstorm pushed the flames toward them, making it hard to see through the smoke.
In addition to McKee, four other of the crew members grew up in California: Kevin Woyjeck, 21, of Seal Beach; Sean Misner, 26, of the Santa Ynez Valley; and Hemet natives William “Billy” Warneke, 25, and Chris MacKenzie, 30.
The Maricopa County medical examiner released all the firefighters’ bodies Sunday.
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