Travis Carter was born on August 7, 1982, in Prescott, Arizona, to Tripp Carter and Glenna Eckel. As a little boy, he loved to work on the Necktie Ranch in Walnut Grove with his dad, Trip Carter, and grandpa, Arden Carter. He rode tractors, played in the snow, and loved Christmas time with his extended family at the ranch. As he grew older, Travis began to become a real help on the ranch and, according to his dad, he was a good hand and worked, branded, and shipped cattle, drove the large equipment, and was a great horse shoer.
Approaching high school, Travis was an outstanding athlete and, in 2000, began school at Orme in Dewey, Arizona, where he played football and was an all-state, all-conference football player. He scored 16 touchdowns his senior year as tailback. Married in 2005 to Krista Smalley, the couple has two children, Brayden and Brielle.
His firefighting career began in 2005, where he worked for the Prescott National Forest as a hotshot and worked on the Rodeo-Chediski Fire and many others until 2009. In 2009 he was chosen to be among the elite Granite Mountain Hot Shots crew through the City of Prescott. In 2009, the city received a grant from FEMA for firefighting, which provided a full-time career for each member of the crew. Their job was, in the off season, to trim brush and limbs to protect the areas in and around Prescott. They are known as Prescott’s Finest and were professionals with a great deal of training.
Travis has said that one of his favorite places on earth is the fishing pond at the ranch. His family is grateful to the Lord for Travis’ life and for the time they had with him. He will be greatly missed, but know he is finally home with the Lord, whom he loved.
I did an essay on this guy and the fire he died in. He seems like a great guy and its sad that he had to leave.
– WrigleyI just finished watching the movie, and saw his name. Thought to myself it cant be the same person, sure enough I searched Travis Carter Orme and was shocked. I was fortunate to go to school one year with Travis at Orme, great guy!!!
– Eduardo WeilandI had the privilege of being friends with Travis while at the University of Arizona. We were weight lifting buddies. He had no quit in him. He would barely let you spot him on a lift – if you went to help he would work that much harder to complete it himself. One of the nicest, most humble people I’ve known and he sure had a lot he could have bragged about too (including making the UofA football team as a walk on when we were there!). As down to earth as he was talented – a rare breed. So fortunate to have known Travis and will never forget him and the ultimate sacrifice he and his fellow hotshots made.
– Mike NJune 2020. On this, the 7th anniversary of the Yarnell Fire and the deaths of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots, know that your firefighter family will never forget you. These 19 young men are true HERO’S
– Lisa Hopman