Arizona forest officials believed that some of the 19 firefighters who died last month fighting a blazing wildfire might have survived, according to audio recordings released Thursday, NBC News reported. The firefighters, who were part of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, died on June 30 battling the wildfire, which burned almost 8,400 acres and destroyed more than 200 structures. As of Wednesday night, the fire had been fully contained. Communication from an incident command dispatcher deployed to the scene indicated that he believed some of the firefighters might be alive. But a subsequent recording revealed that he confirmed all of the firefighters were dead. Individual funerals for the fallen firefighters began Wednesday and some of their remains were returned to their families in California.
