Monday, July 1, 2013

Obama: 'We are heartbroken' over AZ firefighters

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, right, to a joint press conference after meeting together at State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Monday, July 1, 2013. Teeming crowds and blaring horns welcomed President Barack Obama to Tanzania's largest city, where the U.S. president's likeness is everywhere as he arrived on the last leg of his three-country tour of the African continent. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, right, to a joint press conference after meeting together at State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Monday, July 1, 2013. Teeming crowds and blaring horns welcomed President Barack Obama to Tanzania's largest city, where the U.S. president's likeness is everywhere as he arrived on the last leg of his three-country tour of the African continent. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

A wildfire burns homes in Yarnell, Ariz. on Sunday, June 30, 2013. An Arizona fire chief says the wildfire that killed 19 members of his crew near the town was moving fast and fueled by hot, dry conditions. The fire started with a lightning strike on Friday and spread to 2,000 acres on Sunday amid triple-digit temperatures. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Kadlubowski)

(AP) ? President Barack Obama says the deaths of 19 firefighters who died battling an Arizona wildfire are a heartbreaking reminder that emergency personnel put their lives on the line every day while rushing toward danger.

Obama, who spoke from Africa on Monday, added that America's thoughts and prayers go out to their families.

He said, quote, "We are heartbroken about what happened."

Obama says his administration is prepared to help Arizona investigate how the deaths happened. He predicted the incident will force government leaders to answer broader questions about how they handle increasingly destructive and deadly wildfires.

The firefighters, members of an elite crew fighting a forest fire northwest of Phoenix, were overtaken Sunday by a fast-moving blazed fueled by hot winds. Some 200 homes also were destroyed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-01-AF-Obama-Wildfires/id-cf0f1d2103e74c1c8231126cc99dacd3

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