Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, adjourned an Assembly session Wednesday in memory of two Hemet residents who were among the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona last weekend.
Chris MacKenzie and Billy Warneke were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and both graduated from Hemet High School. Nestande, whose 42nd District includes Hemet, said MacKenzie and Warneke "will forever be remembered as our local heroes."
"(They) marched into this fire, and entered rugged terrain in the middle of a triple-digit heat wave to protect nearby residents and homes. In the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives to keep others out of harm's way," Nestande said.
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MacKenzie and Warneke were both in their 20s -- MacKenzie graduated from Hemet High School in 2001 and Warneke in 2005. The latter was a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq.
– City News Service.
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