a nine-member investigative team of forest managers and safety experts arrived in arizona on july 2. their mission was to "understand what happened as completely as possible" to prevent similar incidents. granite mountain hotshots memorial state park was created to honor the hotshots. a path leads from a parking area on highway 89 up to an observation deck. a trail follows the last steps of the hotshots down to the fatality site where they made their last stand. encircling the fatality site, 19 gabions, one for each hotshot, are united by chains.