BALDWIN: Before I let you go, the federal government has taken over command of the deadly fire north of Phoenix, Arizona, the one that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters Sunday, 19 firefighters, each a member of the Prescott fire department's Granite Mountain Hot shots. These are elite, the elitist of the elite firefighters here, and today -- look at this. This is how it looks outside their home base, the Prescott fire department, a makeshift memorial growing by the hour. Two days later, this community's loss is still sinking in.</s>REP. MATT SALMON (R), ARIZONA: There aren't any real words to express the kind of sadness that we feel today. It's beyond comprehension.</s>CRAIG BROWN, FIREFIGHTER SUPERVISOR: When I received the news that 19 of our brave firefighters have been taken from us, I was beside myself.</s>BALDWIN: Hundreds of people jammed inside this Prescott university gym, this was last night, to pay their final respects, firefighters there gathering at the end of the ceremony offering hushed words of comfort among themselves. Questions remain, though, as to how this happened. You have these 19 highly trained, highly skilled men trapped in a fiery dead end from which there was no escape. Why they unaware of the storm rolling in? That dramatic surge of wind that turned this fire into this monster and, crucially, may have changed its direction? Fourteen of the fallen firefighters were still in their 20s, among them Andrew Ashcraft, age 29, a father of four.</s>DEBORAH PFINGSTON, MOTHER OF ANDREW ASHCRAFT: B because I always would text Andrew when he was out on a fire, be strong, be wise, be safe. I said, OK, God, I don't understand it, but thank you that he wasn't alone, thank you that he was -- that they were together.</s>BALDWIN: Four hundred ground firefighters are still out there. THE LEAD with Jake Tapper starts now.
Federal Government Takes Command Of Massive Arizona Wildfire