'Their Courage And Sacrifice Are Not Lost'

By By KOMO Staff & News Services Published: Jul 11, 2001 at 2:16 PM PST Last Updated: Jul 24, 2009 at 9:37 AM PST
WINTHROP -

Three people from Yakima and one Ellensburg man were the firefighters killed when a wildfire turned on them in the Chewuch River valley of the North Cascades.

Here is some information about each of them:

  • Tom L. Craven of Ellensburg was 30 and had a wife, Evelyn, and two children. He worked as a firefighter for 12 years. He was raised in the Roslyn area and played football for Central Washington University in Ellensburg. He hosted a rap and hip-hop program called "Off da Hook" on KCWU in Ellensburg. His younger brother, Ted, also was fighting the fire near Winthrop.

    Craven's sister Corrine told the Ellensburg Daily Record that Tom "had a lot of enthusiasm for life. He was just a great guy. He was so caring."

  • Karen L. Fitzpatrick was 18 and had gone through Forest Service firefighter training just last month. She was born in the San Francisco Bay area and moved with her parents to Yakima in 1990.

    She'd already fought three or four fires for the Naches Ranger District. Her father, John Fitzpatrick, says she was musical director in their church and had a beautiful voice. He says he and his daughter became born-again Christians last year.

  • Devin A. Weaver was 21 and a native of Yakima. He signed up for Forest Service firefighting to earn money and get out in the woods.

    His father, Ken Weaver, says he was fighting his first fire when he was killed.

    He was fighting with his longtime friend and Little League teammate, Jason Emhoff, who survived.

    Weaver used to help his father at their family-owned flower shop in Yakima. He finished two years at Yakima Valley College and was planning to enter the University of Washington in the fall, hoping for a career in engineering or high tech.

  • Jessica L. Johnson was 19 and a student at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. She had graduated from West Valley High School in Yakima in 1999. Johnson was a volunteer working with the West Valley Fire Department. She finished training with the Forest Service a couple of weeks ago.

    Gov. Locke Sends His Sympathies

    In a statement released Wednesday, Gov. Gary Locke said he was saddened by the deaths of the four firefighters.

    "As stated in the firefighter's creed, these firefighters gave their best to guard their neighbors," Locke said. "Their courage and sacrifice are not lost on the people of Washington state."

    The federal government has launched an investigation into the deaths, which occurred Tuesday night, and Locke said he hoped that any findings would prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

    Locke urged people to observe an outdoor burn ban and to report fires immediately.

    "The loss of the four courageous firefighters should remind us that the threat of wildfires is real," Locke said. "Many such fires are preventable."

    Locke said he hoped the people of Washington state would rally behind the victims' families and "support them in every way possible."