An elite team of 19 firemen were killed battling a rapidly spreading wildfire destroying scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of two towns in central Arizona, in one of deadliest incident of its kind in US for nearly 80 years.
All the firefighters died while racing to contain the contain the Yarnell Hill wildfire, north of Phoenix, after the blaze destroyed the town yesterday, forcing people to flee.
US President Barack Obama hailed the firefighters killed as "heroes".
"They were heroes -- highly-skilled professionals who, like so many across our country do every day, selflessly put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of fellow citizens they would never meet," Obama said in a statement today.
"The federal government is already assisting, and we will remain in close contact with state and local officials to provide the support they need," he said as he headed to Tanzania on the final leg of an official tour of Africa with his family.
"But today, Michelle and I join all Americans in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of these brave firefighters and all whose lives have been upended by this terrible tragedy," said Obama.
The firefighters were part of a specially trained "hotshot" unit who had battled other wildfires in New Mexico and Arizona in recent weeks, officials say.
The fire, believed to have been ignited by lightning, broke out on Friday and according to local forestry officials has already covered 2,000 acres, spreading rapidly through the dry, forested area amid strong winds.
An estimated 500 homes have been ravaged by the deadly blaze which came amid a scorching heatwave and tinder-dry conditions across the US southwest, with records broken over the weekend in Arizona and California.
