UPDATE: Seal Beach Man Among 19 Who Died Fighting Arizona Wildfire

He was following in his father’s footsteps.

Seal Beach native Kevin Woyjeck, the son of a Los Angeles County fire captain, was one of the 19 firefighters who perished Sunday while fighting a wildfire in Arizona.

Woyjeck was part of the Prescott (Ariz.) Fire Department's Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, an elite fire crew that fell prey to a blaze in Yarnell.

The Sunday afternoon incident was the worst wildland firefighting loss in the U.S. since the 1933 Griffith Park Fire in Los Angeles, where 29 firefighters were killed. So far, more than 8,000 acres have burned in Arizona's so-called Yarnell Hill fire, which has not been contained.

Woyjeck was a former member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Explorer Post 9, and worked with Care Ambulance Service in Southern California, according to the agency.

A seasonal firefighter, Woyjeck hoped to become a full-time lifesaver just like his father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, a veteran coming up on 30 years with the L.A. County department, according to Keith Mora, an LACF spokesman.

“He was following in his father’s footsteps,” Mora said.

Mora, who worked with Kevin Woyjeck a few times when Kevin was a paramedic in Los Angeles County, said the 21-year-old had an upbeat personality and was “always smiling, always there to support you.”

Kevin’s father was “very proud of him,” Mora said. “He was hoping he could work with his son at some point."

Kevin Woyjeck, who moved to Prescott, was a 2010 Los Alamitos High School graduate.

Kevin became interested in firefighting at a young age and took Fire Technology classes during his time at the school, according to Los Alamitos Unified School District Superintendent Sherry Kropp.

“He sacrificed his life to save others and will be greatly missed by all who knew him,” said Kropp in a statement. Our hearts go out to the Woyjeck family and all of Kevin's classmates, teachers, and friends. 

L.A. County fire authorities are trying to support the family, said Mora.

“The family’s going to have to go through a grieving process,” Mora said. “We’re going through the process nationwide and probably worldwide as firefighters.”

Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby said he has worked with Kevin’s father Joe for more than 30 years, and Kevin was always a familiar face to people in the department.

“Sometimes at a certain age you really don't know what your passion is going to be in life, but Kevin knew at an early age that he wanted to be a firefighter just like his father,” Osby said. “And so even when he was a child he used to go on ride-alongs, and hang out with the firefighters. And his dad was also the president and the vice president of our local firefighter museum, and it was not uncommon to see Kevin there working with his dad on the equipment.

“Once Kevin became of age he became an explorer for our department at the age of 16,” Osby said. “And that was a voluntary program that is a mentoring program for children that had an interest in becoming a firefighter. He successfully graduated from that academy and continued his pursuit to become a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.”

“… We spoke several months ago about that pursuit and how excited he was about his new job in Arizona and eventually that when we gave a test here in Los Angeles County that he would be able to join the other men and women here behind me to wear the proud badge of that of a Los Angeles County firefighter.”

Mark Ridley-Thomas, chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff at county facilities in honor of Woyjeck and the other firefighters.

"Again we are reminded of the sacrifice made by those who, day in and day out, put their lives on the line for us all," Ridley-Thomas said.

The death toll was the highest total loss of firefighters since the 9/11 terrorist attack, when 340 firefighters lost their lives.

“Anybody that loses their life in the line of duty, it’s a tragedy,” said Capt. Jon Muir, public information officer with the Orange County Fire Authority.

“I consider him a brother firefighter from another department and another state,” Muir said. “Of course, he’s a hero.”

President Obama issued a statement Monday saying: "Yesterday, 19 firefighters were killed in the line of duty while fighting a wildfire outside Yarnell, Ariz. 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." 

Kevin Woyjeck is survived by his parents, a 19-year-old brother and a 16-year-old sister.

If you knew Kevin Woyjeck, share your memories or condolences in the comments.

--City News Service contributed to this story.

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