In Her Words, Through Her Lens

Resident's Of Yarnell

The Damage

April considers Prescott her "hometown". She was born at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, and really discovered herself when she lived in Prescott. She currently lives down in the Valley in Avondale, Arizona. She has many friends and family members that live there. April Personally knew 4 of the Hot Shot Men that died in the fire, and knew of a 5th Hot Shot through a friend who was a cousin of the man. She felt compelled to help document this Tragedy as it unfolded. These are her images and her words.

A note and Word from April: "First let me say this, that Prescott is resilient, we will rebuild, and we will unite and help all of the Fallen Hero's surviving family members. It was a privelage and an honor to be where I love and call home documenting this tragedy. Prescott is a close and tight nit community, so they wont go without. Today as you celebrate our Nations birth and independence, be sure to thank a hero that makes our quality of life possible. Shake a Veterans hand, hug a widow, and tell them thank you ads that you appreciate their sacrifices. Tell them you support them. Whether it be Military, Police, security or a firefighter, just thank them for their incredible dedication and sacrifices so we can sleep soundly in the Land of the Free.

To all of our Heros, we salute you, may you make it home safely to your loved ones, and may the fallen heros remain in our hearts always.

Happy and Safe 4th everyone." -April Morganroth

Slide show of roughly 90 images after 2 mins and 20 seconds of the CBS 5 News Airing on July 4th, 2013 in this same slide show. *There is another airing tonight, July 5th, 2013 on CBS5 at 5pm. CBS5 Arizona Slide Show/Story

The Damage was just so unbelievable, I had to literally take a knee several times because it was so overwhelming. To see what the fire took and did not take was heart breaking. You can really see how incredibly unpredictable the fire was, how it truly made up it's own will and path.

I couldn't believe my eyes, these were roads I took many times, places I've visited with friends, traveled through, and know well. The land was almost completely unrecognizable at some places. In some of the images you see green patches on a dead tree, and you see rocks blasted by the fire, and roadway bumpers completely shredded by the fire.

I met this Yarnell Evacuee at a Press Briefing on Tuesday at the North Road Block on the 89A. I wish I had gotten her last name, all I got was her first name and the church she attended. Her story broke my heart. She had just gotten home from a vacation in Maui when she found out what was going on. She literally had only 30 mins to pack herself and get her horses and dogs into the trailer to get them to safety. She is a widow and her 43 year old son lives in California teaching Summer School. She had to do this all on her own! I couldn't image! It takes me an hour just to get my two children ready to get out the door. She was very upset at the lack of communication from the Agencies concerning the conditions of their homes. She was involuntarily evacuated.

These 19 Men are Heros. They answerd the calling that not many can do, or will do willingly. These men are Father's, Brothers, Husbands, Sons, Cousins, Friends, and Role Models, and they deserve our Respect. These men do a job that not everyone can do, and they do it because they love protecting and serving their communities. These men are selfless and are honorable men. They ARE our HEROS!

Thank you:

-- Andrew Ashcraft, 29

-- Kevin Woyjeck, 21

-- Anthony Rose, 23

-- Eric Marsh, 43

-- Christopher MacKenzie, 30

-- Robert Caldwell, 23

-- Clayton Whitted , 28

-- Scott Norris, 28

-- Dustin Deford, 24

-- Sean Misner, 26

-- Garret Zuppiger, 27

-- Travis Carter, 31

-- Grant McKee, 21

-- Travis Turbyfill, 27

-- Jesse Steed, 36

-- Wade Parker, 22

-- Joe Thurston, 32

-- William Warneke, 25

-- John Percin, 24

Thank you for being OUR Heros! With Love from ALL of us in Arizona and all over the World.

The hardest part documenting this tragedy was seperating my roles as mourning, friend of the fallen men, and photojournalist. There were several times when I was sobbing so much, and grieving with the people I know and love, that I couldn't even see through my viewfinder. I had to take a knee, and lay the cameras down to re gain composure, or I had to just snap and pray that the images were coming out. Below I posted this tidbit on my facebook page during the coverage, when I was going between locations:

"You grieve in small moments when you find yourself alone amongst the crowds taking a break from working. My food in front of me makes me physically sick thinking about eating, but I know I have too, so I can have the strength to push on. I still have job to document for the grieving families, I can grieve later. I've gotten so good at that this last year. 5 days from now my mom left this earth. 2 months later my best guy friend Ron and a grandmother. A month after that my grandfather, moms dad, on my oldest sons 2nd birthday. ‎#notimeforgrieving. A highlight today, I got to spend some quality time with my Aunt Laurie who still lives in Prescott."

Remembering Our Heros at Embry Riddle University

Memorial at Prescott High School

Closing Words from Photojournalist April Morganroth:

In moments of tragedy we often forget how to act, or behave, and for a moment that's okay as long as we remain respectful. We all grieve differently, for me, I grieve through my camera lens. Last year I put my camera down when my mom was rapidly ailing from her cancer. My thought was that if I don't take any pictures, or make any images, than my reality couldn't be true. If there are no images that show the proof of this, then it can't be reality. I regret that decision, I wish I would have picked up my camera more during that time, and captured some of my mothers last moments with us. It wasn't until I started grief counseling with a women from Hospice of the Valley, that I realized that my way to grieve was through my lens. I picked up my lens again and started focusing on what matters most in life, what I call the between moments. The moments that most people miss because they don't think it is important, or they are too busy chasing the story, rather than waiting for it to unfold. I myself take my cues from Steve McCurry, and I wait for the story to unfold, rather than chase the story. It's important to know that we can grieve in the way that feels best. For some it's baking, and for others it's taking a long jog; whatever your way of grieving, make sure you drinks lots of water, and that you have a support team to back you up, and check on you.

Thank you to the Men and Women that put their lives on the line for us to sleep soundly at night. With all of my love, I pray that you make it back to your loved ones each and every day, and I pray that God leads you into Protecting and Serving your community until you are old and gray! Freedom and protection is not possible without your sacrafices.

***Thank you personally to my Cousin Brian Schultz who is a Federal Fire Fighter at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona. And to the many other Safety personnel that I know and Love, and have come from in my family tree.