Fallen Hotshot firefighter will be honored with memorial signs on 405 Freeway in Seal Beach
Two memorial signs honoring fallen firefighter Kevin Woyjeck, who died in an Arizona wildfire three years ago, are scheduled to go up next year beside the 405 Freeway through his hometown of Seal Beach.
The signs, reading “Hotshot Firefighter Kevin J. Woyjeck Memorial Highway,” were recently unveiled to Woyjeck’s father, Los Angeles County fire Capt. Joe Woyjeck, his mother, Anna, and their two children after they worked with Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) for the past year.
“The last couple of years have been kind of a blur,” said Joe Woyjeck, 55. “It’s a humbling experience that a little part of the freeway in my son’s hometown will be in memory of him.”
On June 30, 2013, Kevin Woyjeck, 21, along with his elite Granite Mountain Hotshot crewmates, were trying to subdue a wildfire in Yarnell, Ariz., but were overtaken by flames. Nineteen of them, including Woyjeck, died in the deadliest wildland firefighting disaster since 1933.
Plans to honor him with a memorial sign began after his mother saw a veterans memorial highway sign on the way home from Arizona last year. Joe Woyjeck said they wanted to do the same for their son.
The couple got in touch with Allen and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) about having the stretch of the 405 between the 22 and 605 freeways dedicated to their son.
In May, the Woyjecks were invited to the state Assembly when the legislation passed unanimously.
“It’s unimaginably difficult to lose a family member like that, but by commemorating Kevin and his life and what he was passionate about, I think it will bring a lot of happiness to the family and community,” Allen said.
Kevin Woyjeck, who was born and raised in Seal Beach, showed an early interest in becoming a firefighter. As a boy, he would visit a firehouse with his father. Shortly after turning 15, he became an Explorer with the Orange County Fire Authority.
He worked as a firefighter in South Dakota and as an emergency medical technician to gain experience. He returned home and went to El Camino Fire Academy.
In April 2013, the Los Alamitos High School graduate joined the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew.
As a fire captain, Joe Woyjeck knew the risks of being a Hotshot, but he and his son always maintained a good relationship, he said.
“As parents, our whole life we [are] protecting our children and putting them on bicycles with helmets, using seat belts and air bags,” he said. “I was always proud but nervous for my son.”
Woyjeck said he is “disappointed [the freeway] can’t be named after all the Hotshots” but is glad his son will be remembered in his hometown.
“He was a happy kid, always smiling and always instilling in our children to do the right thing,” he said.
