July 03, 2013
Flags lowered to honor Arizona firefighters
Under a proclamation signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the United States flag and the Illinois flag are to be at half-staff at all State of Illinois facilities in honor of the 19 firefighters who died June 30 while fighting a wildfire northwest of Phoenix, Ariz.
Flags are to be flown at half-staff immediately until sunset, Friday, July 5.
The firefighters, between 21 and 43 years old, were members of an elite firefighting crew, the “Granite Mountain Hotshots,” part of the Prescott, Ariz., Fire Department. The fire crew was battling a 2,000-acre Yarnell Hill fire ignited June 28 by lightning.