Firefighters Honor Fallen Firefighters After Finding Undamaged American Flag In Charred Redding Cemetery

By on August 3, 2018

(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

After finding an undamaged American flag amid the wildfire devastation in Shasta County, fire crews took a moment to honor fallen firefighters.

The flag was found by firefighters with the Alameda County Fire Department and the Moraga-Orinda Fire District flying undamaged on a flag pole above the charred remains of the Whiskeytown Cemetery in Redding. That area had been hit hard by the Carr Fire, which started July 23^rd in Whiskytown.

The Alameda County Fire Department posted on Facebook saying, “To honor the firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting the Carr Fire and Ferguson Fire, Battalion Chief Palmer and Moraga-Orinda firefighters were determined to lower the flag to half-staff in their memory.” The Carr Fire has killed two firefighters and four civilians including two children.

As of the latest update, the fire has destroyed 1,060 homes, 19 commercial structures and 474 outbuildings, and damaged 189 homes. At the height of the fire, more than 27,000 people were evacuated from their homes. And, while the fire is still threatening more than 13 hundred structures, several evacuation orders have been lifted.