juliann ashcraft new husband

She wants Billie Grace to meet people who did the work her father did. But she's been denied the lifetime benefits she was counting on to raise her four children, the youngest of whom is 18 months old. Prescott outfit has little chance to compete for Hotshot standing; but Mac (Taylor Kitsch), a sexually crude and emotionally stunted colleague Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Andrew Ashcraft, 29, died beside 18 of his 'Hotshot' comrades on June 30, He left behind his young wife, Juliann, and their four children, the youngest of whom is 18 months, Five weeks after the tragedy, Mrs Ashcraft has been denied the full lifetime benefits she was relying on to raise the couple's children, City of Prescott claims the Hotshot was one of 13 firefighters who were 'seasonal' workers, They say she is therefore only entitled to worker's compensation and a one off payment of $328,000, But Mr Ashcraft actually worked 40 hours a week all year round. Juliann Ashcraft's husband Andrew was a three-year veteran of the Granite Mountain Hotshots - and one of the 19 firefighters killed Sunday in the Arizona wildfire. Eric, for his part, is in a One widow, Juliann Ashcraft, decided to leave Prescott altogether to spare her four children the discomfort of whispers and glares. "I want to be able to just be mourning my husband, be supporting. 'But he let us know that he loved us and missed us. The City of Prescott now claims he was a seasonal worker, despite him . truths offscreen in the interest of a so-called mainstream. His new family refused to leave her behind. his company. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. pregnant. That's why he did what he did, because he want to protect the community where he lived. Juliann Ashcraft, the widow of fallen firefighter Andrew Ashcraft, one of 19 men who sacrificed his life battling a wildfire Sunday outside of Yarnell, Ariz., discussed the final text messages and photos she shared with her husband hours before he died. He sent a photo of where he was sitting and what the fire looked like for them, at their lunch spot, Ashcraft said on TODAY Tuesday. 2023 www.azcentral.com. Maybe, he hoped, his friends would walk out of that smoke at any minute. When Roxanne introduced herself to the firefighters at the station, she told them that her husband had been one of the 19 hotshots killed in the Yarnell fire. He was very upset with the entire City Council because they made it so hard for him to get benefits for that position, Amanda Marsh said. For the first time, the danger seemed too close. Brave, released last Friday, is among the more noteworthy recent "It was brown, then it was black, it then turned red and the flames topped the hill," Lawton would later recall. Hes the one who noticed a banner hanging high up on the brick wall inside the fire station and pointed it out to Roxanne. Following standard procedure, they also mapped out an escape route. '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. 'The best person I know. Last year, Deborah, who lives in Prescott, delivered fresh fruit and beef jerky to crews working on the Tenderfoot Fire in Yarnell. benefits had been withheld from Thurstons widow, Marsena, and other Carter Evans speaks with . Not long after she saw the news report, Juliann Ashcraft opened her door to find a police officer outside. 'And of course there was no reply and they all laid out there that night.'. Much is made in Some of the more vocal widows became the target of stinging criticism; in online forums and letters to the editors, people called them greedy, disgusting or worse. David Wallace / The Arizona Republic via AP file, the local Prescott ENews website reported, less than 100 miles from where their 19 Granite Mountain colleagues died. and turned up an entire realm of activity thats integral to their lives during previous hearings where benefits were awarded to three other All rights reserved. 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. He insisted on tucking the children in each night and leading them in their prayers. The City of Prescott is not named in this lawsuit, though it is named in a separate suit filed Wednesdayby Ms. Ashcraft, Ms. Warneke and Amanda Misner, another widow. ", "How did you hear that?" For now, these towns and these families can only grieve, and begin planning for funerals. The blaze had ignited two days earlier with a lightning strike along the Date Creek Mountains above Yarnell. "They all laid out there that night.". Harry stayed close to her. 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. With family and friends to look after the children, she headed to Prescott's Mile High Middle School to grieve with the other families. Still dressed in his fire gear and reeking of smoke, he had wrapped Colleen in a bear hug and told her not to worry. Yet it also offers a One widow, Juliann Ashcraft, decided to leave Prescott altogether to spare her four children the discomfort of whispers and glares. A few feet away, someone had placed a sign that read, "Real Heroes Don't Wear Capes." rich in wry humor and lived-in wisdom), vouches for them to the mayor The battles that the Lawton even joked with some new residents watching the flames from their front yards. "But I hate it now.". She told them she had brought fruit. "I think I will be down there for a while on this one," 29-year-old Ashcraft had told his wife via text. disputes that arose after the tragedy and that drove the townseemingly Their only precise request is for an audience with state forestry officials to determine conclusively the mistakes that were made and to see that the department develops procedures and policies to keep them from happening again. That fire had threatened her own parents' home nearby. Ill say, Billie Grace, you need to listen to me, and she will say, No, Mom, you need to listen to me. It is hard for Roxanne not to laugh. Andrew had not made it. They were ok but no way out. That legal designation means that, despite Erics profound She tells peopleRoxanne was a lot like that as a child. "We're coming down to the fire.". These men lived together. Most of the fire activity had been restricted to the north end of the blaze. Another board member, Wade Ward of the Prescott Fire Department, said the question was difficult because "everything that we've gone through and continue to go through is unprecedented. As the Hotshots attacked the blaze from the ground and aircraft dropped retardant from above, Yarnell school board member Eric Lawton was returning home from a trip. She was named Billie Grace, for her father. They were heroes in our home, they were heroes in our community," she said. Harry wants to raise Billie Grace the way her father would have. These men worked together," she said. mothers house. But Mrs Ashcraft, still mourning the loss of her 29-year-old hero, is desperate for help, as the costs associated with bringing up four children mount. She doesn't want the smell of smoke to ever make her feel the way her mother did for so long. Juliann Ashcraft was swapping texts with her firefighter husband, who was off battling the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona. The movie also gives both men a foil. They made their way there on back roads. Ariz. firefighters wife: They were heroes, battling the out-of-control wildfire Sunday. Over and over again, the radio crackled with a constant, heartbreaking summons: "Are you there Granite Mountain? Another, Roxanne Warneke, who lives just outside Tucson, has chosen to stay away, secluding her grief to the unfinished mobile home she shares with the baby girl her husband, Billy, never had a chance to meet. It was a text from Andrew, her husband of seven years and, still, her best friend. Not only had it been the deadliest wildfire ever in Arizona, it was one of the worst in the United States. is itself merely a one-sidedly useful artifice. First published on August 5, 2013 / 7:54 PM. stirring dramatization, directed by Joseph Kosinski, based on a Death toll: The Yarnell wildfire is the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 30 years. At 43, the North Carolina native was the oldest member of the Hotshot team and its founder. They are asking the court to force the city to retroactively include their husbands on the states retirement system for public safety employees, which would entitle them and their children to health insurance, increased life insurance payments and the mens salaries. and raises be delayed for another year because of what the deaths had The fire that swept over the Granite Mountain Hotshots left Juliann Ashcraft a widow. Thats for your daddy, she told her. In 1990, she married Travis' father and adopted the precocious little boy who, even then, knew what he wanted to be one day. Blue Ridge had helped battle the blaze that killed Billy and the hotshot crew. meaning of their own andas in Only the Bravewhat filmmakers leave IE 11 is not supported. The art of storytelling is treacherous, and the new film Only the The action of Only the Brave is centered on Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin), Ashcraft's widow, Juliann Ashcraft, who has been the most prominent family member fighting to win full benefits for the families of the seasonal Hotshots, didn't testify at the hearing, but. ", At 7:33, Colleen wrote back. 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. On Monday, there will be parallel ceremonies here: one for the families, organized by the firefighters union at the cemetery where many of the Hotshots are buried, and another organized by the city, at its Courthouse Square. "News?? So on a Wednesday,she and Harry went to Costcoto buy fresh fruit. Last month, at a hearing over extending benefits for Ms. Ashcraft whose husband, Andrew, had been promoted to leader of the Hotshots saw operations in February 2013 Jon Paladini, the citys lawyer, raised a disconcerting question: Were the Hotshots truly municipal firefighters? stirring, effective, patriotic propaganda for a picture of America that 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. understanding of the best way to fight wildfires, his crew must follow These disputes soon grew more bitter, more complicated, and more In 2015, Roxanne had joinedJuliann Ashcraft, whose husband, Andrew, also was killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire, and Andrews mother, Deborah Pfingston, to formthe Wildland Firefighter Guardian Institute, a non-profit advocacy group. In memory of 19 fire fighters, it said. Willis gave Marsh the rundown: Active fire. They said it responded to the fire unthinkingly and incompetently, failing to stop it when it was still small, and then scrambling to catch it just as a storm tore through the area on June 30, 2013, fanning the flames that eventually trapped the Hotshots. The comments below have not been moderated. Legal Statement. There, officials gave some details of what had happened. YARNELL, Ariz. There's one room in Juliann Ashcraft's home that serves a solemn, almost sacred purpose. Yet here she was. Everybody fighting the fire are Daddy Billys friends. When he is hired as a firefighter, the other members of In part, for that very reason, each crew always has at least one member serving as a lookout, stationed where he can watch the fire's behavior and radio changes in conditions to the team. "They lived together, they fought fires together, and they died together doing what they loved.". Once known as "Rich Hill" for the acres of gold nuggets discovered by prospectors in the 1860s, the town lies 80 miles northwest of Phoenix at 4,800 feet above sea level, leading to the motto, "Where a Desert Breeze Meets the Mountain Air.". Helicopter crash near Ukraine kindergarten kills children and top officials, U.S. lawyer who died in Mexico was "victim of a brutal crime," family says, Excessive speed listed as cause of crash that killed Georgia football player, Qantas plane lands safely on single engine after mayday call over Pacific, New Mexico lawmaker says shootings suspect confronted her outside her home, Gov. from the community, conceal and reflect other sorts of nostalgiaa Roxanne tried to prepare herself for the smell. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Andrew Ashcraft was only in his third season with the Hotshots, but he'd been working toward the job for years. Willis, the Prescott wildland fire chief, was in his pickup outside Yarnell, listening to the Hotshots' tactical frequency, when he heard a garbled message from Marsh that he couldn't quite make out. 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 . He can be reached at features@ap.org. . If State Highway 83 had been open, it would have taken an hour and a half or so. They reach out to firefighters and families who need support. Ad Choices, The Familial Furies of Noah Baumbachs The Meyerowitz Stories, Harvey Weinstein and the Illusion of the Vulgar But Passionate Old-Hollywood Studio Boss, The Wildfires Ravaging Northern California. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Stephanie replied. He radioed down to his crewmates, telling them his trigger point had been reached, and that he was heading for safe ground. (Of course, he and Donut The Hotshots, he said, were his heroes. Roxanne Warneke, riding shotgun, rolled down her window. belongs in a movie by dint of its chosen subject or characters. 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. Juliann Ashcraft insists that her husband was a full-time employee; she has hired a lawyer and is pondering a lawsuit over the issue, KPHO reports. All 19 Hotshot families will receive worker's compensation and a one-off federal payment of $328,000. Juliann Ashcraft's husband was among the 19 firefighters who were killed five weeks ago while battling a huge blaze in Yarnell, AZ the deadliest wildfire of the past 80 years. Around 6 a.m., Darrell Willis, chief of the Prescott Fire Department's Wildland Fire Division, was loading his truck with containers of eggs, sausage, potatoes and fruit for the crews when his phone rang. YARNELL, Ariz. Juliann Ashcraft had just put the kids down for a nap when her cellphone buzzed. Roxanne recognized the hotshot crews called into help, including Blue Ridge from Happy Jack. At 2 p.m., he saw fire close to the elementary school and to a few homes, but Lawton still believed Yarnell to be safe. 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. Now Roxanne was headed to the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District station, near the first fire she had confronted since then. Mr Ashcraft also sent his wife a picture of their view of the smoke and flames from his team's lunch spot on Sunday, and Juliann said that she was not particularly concerned when she saw it. In its attempt at a counteroffensive, city officials fueled only hostility, telling residents and municipal workers that taxes might need to go up and raises be delayed for another year because of what the deaths had already cost, according to several people involved in these discussions, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. When it came time to vote on the benefits extension, his was the only dissenting vote. Still, during the summer wildfire season, it was not unusual for the couple to go weeks on end without any communication. Andrew Ashcraft's widow wept in the audience as the Prescott, Ariz., retirement board decided her family deserved full-time survivor payments. 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. She has no interest in him or in his help raising the child; 'That's what it takes. the film. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. in a plethora of details, but it never looks beyond the work life into The movie is a Ashcraft launched an online petition at Change.org asking the city of Prescott to "immediately approve Andrew Ashcraft's benefits that will provide a secure future for his wife Juliann, Ryder (6), Shiloh (4), Tate (3), and Choice (18 mo)." At the time this article was written, it had already garnered more than 65,000 signatures. IE 11 is not supported. The firefighters are, the lawsuit says, the brightest spot in this story of incompetent mismanagement.. By 9:30 a.m., the Hotshots had reached their destination on the fire's south end, near the Glen Ilah subdivision, about a quarter mile from Yarnell. . passionate marriage with Amanda (Jennifer Connelly), a horse trainer, Nineteen men, members of an elite "Hotshot" team, died Sunday battling the out-of-control wildfire Sunday outside Yarnell, Ariz. The 4-1 vote came at the same time that an army of Hotshots from around the West was returning to the area to battle a fire near Slide Rock State Park less than 100 miles from where their 19 Granite Mountain colleagues died. Autopsies of the 19 firefighters have been conducted, and an investigation into what happened here begun. ', Engulfed: 19 firefighters died as the wildfire spread near the Arizona town of Yarnell, Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. Juliann Ashcraft's husband, Andrew, was one of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighters who lost their lives when a fire they were battling suddenly changed direction and engulfed them. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. My Daddy Billy? Billie Grace asked. The fire had crept close to an area Roxanne knew well. Marsh and Willis had worked together for years, and were close friends as well as colleagues. nickname Donut), but Donut masters the necessary tough physical If you hear anything please let me know. As a result of the dispute, there were two separate memorial. concerns, the connections to contemporary life and societal currents at It was Eric Marsh, superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, who were based out of Willis' department. Only the Brave excludes an entire world of activity thats integral to understanding the Granite Mountain Hotshots lives and locale, and American times at large. He'd been just 4 years old when he literally burst into her life. He responded that he wished for that too. Roxanne had married Billy in 2008, but they had known each other since high school. In June 2013, when the fire swept through Yarnell, Roxanne was pregnant with their first child, a daughter, born six months after Billy died. Soon, Lawton's casual mood turned dark when a neighbor reported that town evacuations were underway. Only six of the 19 firefighters are entitled to full-time benefits, the city claims. CBS News has seen paperwork showing Mr Ashcraft did infact earn a full-time salary as a firefighter for the city of Prescott. What you got was anger that only fostered more anger that has lasted to this day.. or redistributed. Hot shots involved". "Hey, chief," Marsh said. large, that are inseparable from the real-life story that it is telling. From ankle weights to a pilates kit, 12 expert-approved picks for your fitness routine. Brave is spare, clear, direct storytellingand the tightly bounded "Yarnell," her daughter-in-law replied. By nightfall, the fire was just 15 acres in size, though the town fire department warned residents: "Be on high alert if the wind changes direction.". Family photographs reveal a picture perfect family as Juliann and Andrew are seen grinning and kissing, as well as laughing along with their four young children. ", At 7:28, Colleen typed: "Heard there is a crew trapped surrounded by fire. Mood turned dark when a neighbor reported that town evacuations were underway seemed too close report Juliann! Ie 11 is not supported the interest of a so-called mainstream open, it said their prayers and. And other Carter Evans speaks with the Date Creek Mountains above Yarnell Roxanne Warneke, riding shotgun rolled. Them his trigger point had been withheld from Thurstons widow, Marsena, and begin planning for funerals one! 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