- The 6,000-acre blaze has destroyed more than 100 structures
- The Prescott Fire Department lost a crew of 19 firefighters
- The team's job was to create a firebreak and get as close to the fire as safely possible
- They were battling the Yarnell Hill fire, northwest of Phoenix
Are you near the Arizona wildfire? Please send your photos, videos and updates to iReport. But make safety your top priority.Read more about this story from CNN affiliates KPHO, KTVK, KPNX and KNXV.
(CNN) -- The 19 firefighters were part of an elite squad who confronted wildfires up close, setting up barriers to stop their destructive spread.
But the inferno blazing across central Arizona proved too much.
The team was killed Sunday while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire, northwest of Phoenix -- the deadliest wildland blaze for firefighters in more than 35 years.
"Our entire crew was lost," Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo told reporters Sunday night. "We just lost 19 of some of the finest people you'll ever meet. Right now, we're in crisis."
19 firefighters killed battling wildfire 
See what it's like to battle a wildfire 
Plumes of smoke rise above Del Norte Peak in Colorado on Sunday, June 23. Fires have been burning across Colorado since early June. 
Smoke fills the sky as dawn breaks near South Fork, Colorado, on Saturday, June 22. 
Colorado State Patrol Officer Jessie Bartunek speaks to a resident on the outskirts of South Fork on June 22. 
Firefighters monitor a wildfire in a residential area in South Fork on Friday, June 21. 
A photo taken by the Pike Interagency Hotshot Crew shows the West Fork Fire Complex, made up of the West Fork Fire and Windy Pass Fire, burning 15 miles north of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, on Thursday, June 20. 
The West Fork Fire Complex burns 15 miles north of Pagosa Springs, on June 20, as a fire crew truck is parked nearby. 
Smoke from the West Fork Fire Complex consisting of the West Fork and Windy Pass fires fills the sky on June 20. 
A mix of smoke and storm clouds gathers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Friday, June 14, three days after two major wildfires burned through the area. Rain has aided firefighters in containing the fires. 
Bonnie Kruse hugs her husband, James Kruse, at a press conference in Colorado Springs on June 14. 
El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa speaks during a press conference about the Black Forest fire on June 14 in Colorado Springs. County spokesman Dave Rose told CNN it appeared to be the most destructive in the history of Colorado. 
An orange sky highlights a fire on Thursday, June 13, that has been burning since June 11 near Colorado Springs. 
An aerial view on June 13 shows destroyed house and vehicles after the Black Forest Fire passed through Black Forest, Colorado. 
A Blackhawk helicopter patrols over the Black Forest Fire on June 13. 
A baseball game goes on despite a raging wildfire in Colorado on Wednesday, June 12. 
A firefighter fights a blaze near Black Forest, Colorado, on Wednesday, June 12. The Black Forest Fire is one of two major wildfires near Colorado Springs. The other, the Royal Gorge Fire, is threatening the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge. 
Smoke billows from the Black Forest Fire near a house north of Colorado Springs on June 12. 
Smoke rises from the Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs on June 12. 
Smoke covers the area on June 12. 
High temperatures, dry brush and gusty winds are proving to be a catastrophic combination in central Colorado. 
An airplane drops flame retardant over the Black Forest Fire on June 12 near Colorado Springs. 
Schad Dohl watches a wall of fire as it rages through the Black Forest near Colorado Springs on Wednesday, June 12. 
A house burns late in the evening on Tuesday, June 11, northeast of Colorado Springs. 
Firefighters from the Black Forest Fire Department race toward a burning home near Colorado Springs on June 11. 
A house burns near Colorado Springs on June 11. 
El Paso County Sheriff's Deputy Dan Cukowski helps Linda Davies walk her livestock out from the evacuated area in Colorado Springs on June 11. 
Andrew Dunlap and his father, Dave Dunlap, watch as a wildfire burns behind their house in Colorado Springs on June 11. 
Motorists stop along Interquest Parkway in Colorado Springs on June 11 to watch the advance of a wildfire burning in the Black Forest. 
Lynd Fitzgerald sprays fire retardant around a house in Colorado Springs on June 11. 
A wildfire burns in the Black Forest near Colorado Springs on June 11. 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Photos: Wildfires spread across Colorado 
A helicopter drops fire retardant on a flareup of the Powerhouse Fire near Lake Hughes, California, on Monday, June 3. More than 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, which started on May 30 and has spread to more than 30,000 acres about 70 miles north of Los Angeles. 
A raven flies in front of a flareup that broke through a containment line on June 3. 
Firefighters watch a hillside burn near Lake Hughes on June 3. 
A helicopter fills up from Lake Hughes to battle the Powerhouse wildfire on June 3 in Palmdale. 
A firefighting helicopter drops fire retardant on a flareup on June 3. 
Sparks fly from a hollowed burning tree at the Powerhouse Fire on Sunday, June 2, near Lake Hughes, California. 
Firefighters move equipment to battle a fire in Lancaster, California, on June 2. 
A house near Lake Hughes burns in the Powerhouse Fire on June 2. 
Firefighters battle the flames near Lake Hughes on June 2. 
An electrical line pole burns in two pieces after the wildfire ripped through the area overnight in Lake Hughes on June 2. 
The ruins of a house destroyed in the Powerhouse Fire smolder on June 2 near Lake Hughes. 
Firefighters battle the Powerhouse wildfire at the Angeles National Forest on Saturday, June 1. 
Firefighters battle the Powerhouse wildfire at the Angeles National Forest on June 1. 
Hills glow with fire as the blaze sweeps through an area near Lake Hughes on June 1. 
Brush glows immediately after the main fire front sweeps through on its way toward Lake Hughes on June 1. 
A firefighter inspects the inside of a structure as the Powerhouse fire closes in around the Canyon Creek Complex sports camp south of Lake Hughes on June 2. 
Firefighters watch as the Powerhouse Fire bears down on them as it approaches Lake Hughes on June 1. 
A firefighter watches from a rooftop as the Powerhouse Fire nears the Canyon Creek Complex sports camp during south of Lake Hughes on June 1. 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Wildfires in Southern California Authorities believe lightning sparked the Yarnell Hill fire on Friday. By Sunday night, it had scorched more than 6,000 acres and destroyed more than 100 structures, incident commander Mike Reichling said.
Billows of thick black smoke covered the sky as the whopping flames leaped from one stretch of parched land to another.
The wildfire also forced evacuations in Peeples Valley and Yarnell, but no civilian injuries were reported.
Drivers fleeing the area were chased by dark plumes filling the air. Some evacuees paused from afar, wondering if the flames had torched their homes.
'The elite firefighters'
The blaze hadn't touched Prescott yet. But like many other fire departments across the state, the Prescott team jumped in to help.
The firefighters were members of a "hotshot" crew, tasked with digging a firebreak and creating an escape route.
"A hotshot crew are the elite firefighters," state forestry spokesman Art Morrison said. "They're usually (a) 20-person crew, and they're the ones who actually go in and dig the fire line, cut the brush to make a fuel break. And so they would be as close to the fire as they felt they safely could."
"In normal circumstances, when you're digging fire line, you make sure you have a good escape route, and you have a safety zone set up," Morrison said. "Evidently, their safety zone wasn't big enough, and the fire just overtook them."
Fraijo, the fire chief, said he did not know the exact circumstances surrounding the firefighters' deaths and would not speculate on a cause. But he said drought conditions have made battling the flames especially difficult.
'They were heroes'
President Barack Obama lauded the efforts of the fallen firefighters.
"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," he said in a statement.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who will visit Prescott on Monday, said the loss marked "as dark a day as I can remember."
"It may be days or longer before an investigation reveals how this tragedy occurred, but the essence we already know in our hearts: fighting fires is dangerous work," she said.
"When a tragedy like this strikes, all we can do is offer our eternal gratitude to the fallen, and prayers for the families and friends left behind."
Before the 19 deaths in Arizona, 43 firefighters had been killed so far in 2013, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. A total of 83 firefighters died last year while on duty.
A Facebook page in memory of the Arizona firefighters emerged Sunday night.
"Such a tragic loss," one person wrote. "My heart aches for these brave souls, and for their families and friends."
CNN's Ric Ward, Dave Alsup and Marlena Baldacci contributed to this event.
