Krista Carter's husband, Travis, was a father of two. CBS News obtained paperwork that shows Ashcraft did earn a full-time salary. But the city is refusing to pay Mrs Ashcraft her husband's lifetime salary and health benefits, which together are worth millions, because it insists he was among 13 of the squad who were seasonal employees rather than full-timers. July 3, 2013 / 5:33 AM The local firefighters union said of the 13 hotshots denied full benefits, Andrew Ashcraft was the only one to work 40 hours a week year round. 'Problem solving, teamwork, ability to make decisions in a stressful environment and being nice are the attributes of our crewmembers,' its website read. IE 11 is not supported. Blue Ridge had helped battle the blaze that killed Billy and the hotshot crew. The city of Prescott now claims he was a seasonal worker, despite him . She tells peopleRoxanne was a lot like that as a child. / CBS News. "They never think it will happen to them.. Mrs Ashcraft sobbed as she recounted the bravery of her beloved husband and his close unit of highly-trained 'hotshot' colleagues, who were overcome by the ferocious flames in Yarnell. Juliann Ashcraft, wife of Granite Mountain Hotshot Andrew Ashcraft, gave a beautiful talk about her family's gratitude journey after Andrew's death. 'We just lost 19 of some of the finest people you'll ever meet. Andrew Ashcraft, 29, of Prescott, Ariz., was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and one of 19 firefighters who died battling a fire that swept through Yarnell, Ariz., on Sunday. We love them.'. The Red Cross has opened two shelters in the area - at Yavapai College in Prescott and at the Wickenburg High School gym. ', Engulfed: 19 firefighters died as the wildfire spread near the Arizona town of Yarnell, Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. He had followed in the footsteps of his father, Mike MacKenzie (left), who was once the fire captain of Moreno Valley, California, Tragedy: Mackenzie, pictured left and right, died as the men tried to climb into emergency shelters, Killed: Travis Turbyfill, pictured with his family, also died with his team on the mountainside, Fallen: Scott Norris, pictured, was one of the 19 victims, Disbelief: David Turbyfill is comforted by his wife Shari as he mourns his son Travis Turbyfill on Monday, President Obama called the firefighters heroes and highly skilled professionals who 'put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet.'. Claire and Robert Caldwell were newlyweds. Read:Couple's Wedding Forced to Relocate After Chapel Is Destroyed in Deadly Wildfire. We just lost 19 of the finest people you'll ever meet.'. Her husband, Andrew, 29, was a former "rookie of the year" on the team and the father of four children, all younger than the age of 6. Princess Diana's nieces Lady Eliza and Amelia share Do not sell or share my personal information. President Obama called the firefighters heroes and highly skilled professionals who 'put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet.'. she told the Today show early last month as she struggled to hold back the tears. These men worked together," she said. Roxanne had married Billy in 2008, but they had known each other since high school. Juliann Ashcraft's husband, Andrew, was one of 19 firefighters killed battling a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona on June 30. Can dementia be spotted in CHILDHOOD? She was named Billie Grace, for her father. "Now I have four kids and myself, and I don't know what I'm going to do.". Juliann Ashcraft lost her husband, Andrew . Andrew Ashcraft's widow wept in the audience as the Prescott, Ariz., retirement board decided her family deserved full-time survivor payments. The 29-year-old former "rookie of the year" on the elite "Hotshot" team, was a father of four, all of whom are younger than 6 years old. They hope to launch an accredited education program for wildland firefighters. The comments below have not been moderated. Prescott, which is more than 30 miles northeast of Yarnell, is one of the only cities in the United States that has a hot shot fire crew, Fraijo said. Hot shot crews are elite firefighters who often hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires. Harry is an ex-Marine with friends who are firefighters, so he, too, was tracking the fire. (CBS News) Among the 19 firefighters killed Sunday in Arizona was 29-year-old Andrew Ashcraft. Because even though Billie Grace never got to meet her father, Roxanne wants her to remember him. When they were found on Sunday, all 19 shelters were deployed but some of the men's bodies were inside their individual shelters, while others were outside - indicating just how suddenly they were overcome by the flames. She said she had been texting her husband throughout the day - with him telling her how much he loved and missed her, and how proud he was of their young children - until he abruptly stopped. Less then two days after Andrew Ashcraft's life was taken, Juliann Ashcraft spoke about her husband and the other members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew. "They died heroes," she said, crying and wiping tears away from her eyes. Harry will ask, How did you sleep?, I slept good, she told him. With his widow weeping in the audience, city officials voted Thursday to award full survivor and retirement benefits to the family of one of the part-time Arizona Hotshot firefighters who died fighting the devastating Yarnell Hill Fire almost a year ago. Juliann Ashcraft, an LDS wife and mother, appeared on the "Today" show and CBS news Tuesday morning to discuss her husband, who has been hailed as a hero. She has anew baby brother, Owen. She noticed that everybody who used to work with her father wore green pants. I looked at my four children and thought, Oh man, I was able to grow up with a daddy and they wont. My heart breaks for them every day, said his widow.Marcina Thurston had been with her husband, Joe, since their sophomore year in high school. Owen, born in March, is a content baby. "I want to be able to just be mourning my husband, be supporting my children, be figuring out what our new normal is," she said. (CBS News) PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Five weeks ago, 19 men were killed fighting a wildfire near Yarnell, Ariz. the house Billy had dreamed of, the one he promised Roxanne, was built by firefighters, friends and neighbors, and complete strangers, They focus on safety for wildland firefighters, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Other firefighters who have been identified include the Hotshots superintendent Eric Marsh, 22-year-old Wade Parker and father-of-four Andrew Ashcraft. They are heroes. It was zero per cent contained late Sunday. Mr Ashcraft, like his colleagues, was protecting the people of Yarnell when he died, tragically leaving his young family without a husband, father or income. Roxanne picked up Billie Grace and showed it to her. It still did not look as catastrophic as it turned out to be, but it was interesting to have that perspective, to know what life was like for him on the fire lines and know what he risked day in and day out.. The fire that swept over the Granite Mountain Hotshots left Juliann Ashcraft a widow. The devastation left by 'firestorm' that killed 19 Arizona Tears as 1,000 people gather at emotional memorial for 19 TOUGH BUT KIND: WHO ARE THE GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS? They fought fires together. We love them." Source: Getty Images Article continues below advertisement 'He was the most amazing man,' she said. It continues to burn, with flames lighting up the night sky in the forest above Yarnell, a town of about 700 residents about 85 miles northwest of Phoenix. She wants Billie Grace to meet people who did the work her father did. You could pretty much see, from young freshman all the way, he was going to be physically active. Andrew Ashcraft, 29, was dad to four kids. 'It had to be a perfect storm in order for this to happen,' Prescott Fire Department spokesman Wade Ward told the Today show last month. That's why he did what he did, because he want to protect the community where he lived. British Summer Time begins in March but do you wind your watch forward or back this spring, Healthy mother-of-two, 32, collapsed and died from brain bleed while she led fitness bounce class, Covid gurus Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance warned that shielding wasn't 'very effective' at start of pandemic - yet policy affecting 2.2m Brits wasn't dropped until April 2021, 'Appalled and sickened but not surprised at all': Fury of Covid families as WhatsApps 'show Matt Hancock rejected Chris Whitty's care home Covid testing advice before 43k died' - but ex-Health Secretary insists there 'just weren't enough tests'. Shocking video shows machete fight playing out in broad daylight, Huge urgent police search for missing baby of Constance Marten, Pupils take to TikTok as they stage protest at Shenfield High School, Gabor Mat: No Jewish state without oppressing local population, Putin spy plane before being 'destroyed by pro-Ukraine Belarus group', Amplified jet stream could lead to 'disruptive snow in places', King Charles hosts von der Leyen at Windsor Castle, Dashcam captures moment two cars collide on a roundabout, Putin orders intelligence service to find 'scum' who oppose him, Moment supermarket cashier is attacked at work in New York, Police search allotment sheds for Constance Marten's missing baby, Dramatic moment police cars chase driver moments before smash. Juliann Ashcraft and her husband Andrew were twenty-somethings with four young children when he died in the line of duty in Prescott, Arizona on June 30, 2013. In an. Outside of the love he shared for his family members, hotshot firefighting was his life, his wife said. "I don't know that that's sunk in for them, but I've not stopped thinking about that. That's why he did what he did, because he want to protect the community where he lived. In June 2013, when the fire swept through Yarnell, Roxanne was pregnant with their first child, a daughter, born six months after Billy died. Ariz. firefighters wife: They were heroes, battling the out-of-control wildfire Sunday. Roxanne still tells Billie Grace stories about her father, and Billie Grace tells them to Harry. Roxanne buried Billy in the veterans sections of a cemetery in Marana, with full military honors, not far from where they lived. AZ International Auto Show & New Car Buyer's Guide 2020 Model Year, stretched out over more than 40,000 acres. 'The best person I know. 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