close friend of chris mackenzie, he joins me by phone. wade ward obviously as the governor said there, quite appalling and devastating tragedy has be fallen the area today. and these firemen, these hotshots to lose so many in one incident like this, a terrible blow for you? >> yeah, it's an absolutely horrible situation, tragic for all of us. >> in terms of the investigation into what happened, do you have any more insight into how they found themselves in an awful situation? >> no, at this point the fire is still under investigation. unfortunately, now we have three incidents in our hands, we're dealing with an active fire that's still growing. and we have an incident within the incident and we're trying to deal with the investigation of how this happened. and we're dealing with our families here at home, so this is compounded for us, and it's a very tragic situation. >> how much does this fire -- the scale and power of it, is it exacerbated, temperatures could go as high as 102 degrees. is that making it a lot worse than a fire like thi

for 21-year-old kevin rogiac, fire fighting runs in the family. 30-year-old chris mackenzie was the son of a firefighter and today his family has few answers as to what happened on that mountainside. >> something is wrong because that doesn't happen. they know what they are doing. he's showed me pictures of fires that he ran from because they got too hot and too fast and they had to get out of there. why one the same thing happening? i don't know. >>. the fire itself is still burning out of control at this hour. overnight fire crews on the scene doubled, but with 200 homes destroyed and practically no containment of the fire, hundreds more people are still under threat. >>> another major story we're following overnight, this one overseas following days of widespread demonstrations egypt's president is now facing an ultimatum. give in to public demands or else. he has 48 hours to reconcile the nation's differences or the military's generals say they will intervene seeking their own, quote, road map to restore the peace. members of morsi's political party are calling the deadline, quote,

chris mackenzie was the son of a firefighter, an avid snowboarder. his mother said he lived life to the fullest. >> he was a good kid. and he's going to be so missed. >> reporter: kevin woyjeck is just 21 years old. he also wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and fight fires with the los angeles county fire department. >> we're a giant family. any firefighter lost throughout the country is one of us. we're all a big family. >> reporter: andrew ashcraft leaves behind a wife and four young children, all under the age of six. >> 19 gone. it's unreal. overwhelming. so many families impacted. >> reporter: reality still hasn't sunk in for others. >> i thought for a moment that i had dreamt his death, but, sadly, it hit me moments later that it wasn't a dream or a nightmare. it was reality. >> most of them raised here, part of the community and met their wives here or their girlfriends, whatever they have. raised their kids here and the kids are all young. >> reporter: in this town of 40,000, it seems everyone knew at least one of these firefighters.

. >> reporter: 30-year-old chris mackenzie wanted to be a firefighter like his dad. he lost 75 pounds to get in shape to be a hot shot. 25-year-old bill warnecke joined the crew two months ago. the former marine leaves behind scotegnant wife. in all three of the men who died had babies on the way. grief has engulfed prescott, arizona. juliann ashcraft can't shake the thought of her husband's final .oments when he deployed his fire shelter as a last resort. >> when that moment came to pull out that shelter wa, do you think was going through his tnd. >> i think probably in that last moment, we have four babies, he's selfless and i think he kidsht of our kids and he ,hought of, wishing he was home with them at that moment. i don't think that my daughter knows her dad not going to walk her down the aisle or his sons know that he won't be their coach, and those sorts of things. i don't know that that has sunk in for them. bu but i have not stopped thinking about that. i have told them every chance i ryve gotten since then, you know, your dad loves you and he's with you. a

chris mackenzie, a firefighter. happened on that hillside. >> something is wrong. that doesn't happen. they know what they are doing. he's showed me pictures of fires he ran from because they got too hot and they got too fast and they had to get out of there. why wasn't the same thing happening? so i don't know. >> just so sad. mike, there's one guy left. >> out of 20. >> 19 out of 20. i personally have no frame of reference for such a tragedy because we're used to reading about fires and firefighters, fires here in large cities. but the explosive action of that fire, like a bomb exploding within woodlands. just incredible the accelerated pace of that fire that took 19 people. >> it's funny. in the news business we do images all the time of wildfires. we show them just for the dramatic pictures. we all look at first responders different after 9/11. when 24 people died in the moore, oklahoma, tornado. 19 firefighters. when you sit and think about it, it registers more. >> you're right. we're used to seeing los angele

at the very least you should know their names, anthony rose, chris mackenzie,clayton whitted, dustin dedford, garrett zuppiger, sean misner, travis carter, travis turbyfill, wade parker, billy warneke and kevin woyjeck. he had no kids but leaves a wife behind. andrew ashcraft had a wife and four young children, he was 29 years old. chris mckenzie was like so many other hotshots. he loved snowboarding, living life to the fullest. clayton whitted was 28, knew what a battle looked like on and off the gridiron. he said he knew this fire season was a tough one. dustin loved the outdoors, loved to hunt, mourned by two sisters and seven brothers. jesse steed served in the marines before becoming a firefighter until -- and become a hotshot at 2002, he leaves behind a wife and two young kids. scott norris was 28, worked at the local gun shop. known around town as the ideal gentleman. sean missner was going to be a first time dad. cris carter was thinking of retiring this year. he was 31 years old. wade parker was engaged to be married in 22. billy had he lived would have become a father in de

chris mackenzie was like so many the son of a firefighter. he loved snow boarding, living life to the fullest. chris mack ken zee was 30 years old. clayton played football, knew what a ground battle looked like off and on the gridiron. dustin was 242, loved the outdoors and loved to hunt. jesse steed served in the marines before becoming a firefighter in 2000 and became a hot shot in 2002. he was 36 years old and leaves behind a wife and two young kids. scott norris was 28, worked at a local gunshop, known as the ideal gentleman. sean was about to become a first time dad. he was 26 years old. travis carter at 31 was thinking about retiring this year. even younger at 22, wade parker was engaged to be married in october. billy had he live wod have become a father in december. he was 25 years old. kevin was born to be a hot shot. he is the son of a firefighter. earlier tonight i spoke with his father tonight by phone. >> i'm so sorry for you and your family's loss. i can't imagine what you're going through at this point. what do you want people t

chris mackenzie, he followed his father into firefighting. >> and there is -- jesse steed, a former marineptain of the granite city hot shots. john percin, the strongest and bravest young man i have ever met in my life, said his aunt. and 21-year-old, kevin woyjeck, fire fighting was in his blood. his dad a nearly 30 year veteran of the l.a. county fire department. >> sean misner leaves behind his wife who is 7 months pregnant. a memorial fund has been set up on facebook to benefit the baby. heroes every single one of them. >> more on what the final moments may have been like for the firefighters as intense flames closed in on them. abc's ginger zee takes a look at the last line of defense, paper thin tents able to withstand 500-degree heat. >> reporter: as the flames climbed up to 20 feet, the 19 hot shots deployed their last chance, the emergency fire shelters. the men who died trained extensively with what firefighters called the shake and bake tent. you shake them to open. then bake in them until the fire passes. the team would have had as little as 30 seconds to wrap themselves inside

chris mackenzie. travis turbyfill. andrew ashcraft. joe thurston. wade parker.deford. william warneke. kevin woyjeck. john percin. grant mckee. sean misner. >> ready.♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ♪ when i am down and, oh my soul, so weary, when troubles come and my heart burdened be, then, i am still and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit awhile with me. you raise me up, so i can stand on mountains, you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas, i am strong, when i am on your shoulders; you raise me up, to more than i can be. you raise me up, so i can stand on mountains, you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas, i am strong, when i am on your shoulders, you raise me up, to more than i can be. there is no life - no life without its hunger, each restless heart beats so imperfectly, but when you come and i am filled with wonder, sometimes, i think i glimpse eternity. you raise me up, so i can stand on mountains, you raise me up, to walk on stormy seas, i am strong, when i am on your shoulders, you raise me up, to more than i can be. you raise me up, to more than i ♪an be. >> i