Healing Continues For Prescott Residents After Yarnell Hill Fire

July 19, 2013

Flags around Arizona will go back up to full staff at sunset Friday evening. Governor Brewer had ordered them to be at half-staff for 19 days, in memory of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew who died fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. So, while a statewide visual reminder of what happened will end, for many residents of Prescott, the healing continues. Christina Jones works at Wild Iris Café in downtown Prescott and said the firefighters are a constant topic of discussion.

Religious leaders have played a big part in the community response. Dave Alberts is pastor of Prescott United Methodist Church and said he has gotten calls from churches in Newtown, Conn. and Tucson as well as places that have not dealt with this kind of event. He said his church has become a kind of clearinghouse for people from around the country who just wanted to do something

Alberts said it may be easier for other parts of the state to move on from what happened in Yarnell, and that it will be a while before many Prescott residents find closure.

John Dickerson, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Prescott, is also trying to help members of his congregation work through their grief.