Hotshots are firefighters who literally fight fire with fire. Steinbrink and the Hotshots provided the actors with a week of training to give them a taste of what it meant to be part of the group that some have called the firefighting equivalent of the military’s special forces.

Chino Valley is about 15 miles north of Prescott. Steinbrink spoke last week to the Herald during a phone interview about the Hotshots and the film from his home in Chino Valley, Arizona. Steinbrink was also one of the advisers on the film, along with Amanda Marsh, the widow of crew superintendent Eric Marsh, and the crew’s lone survivor of the Yarnell fire, Brendan McDonough. He is portrayed by actor Jeff Bridges in the film his wife, Marvel, is portrayed by actress Andie MacDowell. He had been retired for three years before the tragic fire, but its impact has remained vivid for the 65-year-old. He served as the team’s first wildland division chief who helped to oversee the creation of the group in the 2000’s. Steinbrink, a Lyle native, was well-acquainted with the Hotshots.

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