Deputies are in the final hours of a 24-hour vigil outside a county fire station in Bellflower to honor firefighter Kevin Woyjeck, one of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots team killed in an Arizona wildfire whose funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Woyjeck, 21, is the son of Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Joe Woyjeck. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies, assigned to Lakewood Station, began the vigil Monday morning -- standing guard in full uniform outside Los Angeles County Fire Station No. 23.
The tribute is scheduled to end at 9 a.m., two hours before Woyjeck's funeral service at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. Hundreds of fire service personnel are expected to join family and friends at the 11 a.m. service.
Woyjeck was one of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew killed June 30 when they were over-run by the Yarnell Hills fire northwest of Phoenix. Woyjeck's remains arrived in Southern California last week after a public memorial for the 19 victims in Prescott that was attended by many of the people the firefighters died trying to protect.
Capt. Woyjeck was embraced by other firefighters at the July 9 memorial, during which the lone surviving member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots recited the Hotshots Prayer. Mourners inside Prescott's Tim's Toyota Center and those in an overflow viewing area set up outside in front of a big-screen monitor stood in ovation as firefighter Brendan McDonough approached the stage.
Vice President Joe Biden and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer spoke at the service.
Woyjeck's remains were escorted with full honors by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to Forest Lawn mortuary in Long Beach. Internment will follow Tuesday's service in a private ceremony.
Woyjeck began his firefighting career as a Fire Explorer, part of a training mentorship program. He worked as an emergency medical technician. He worked as a wildland firefighter in South Dakota before joining the Granite Mountain team in April.
Two of Kevin Woyjeck's uncles also were firefighters.
The June 30 deaths marked the deadliest wildland fire since 25 firefighters were killed as they fought the 1933 Griffith Park fire.
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Photo Credit: Joel Cooke