As someone who has been told "prepare to evacuate" because of fire too many times, was not exactly thrilled by these "experienced prepared hikers"...not experienced prepared canyoneers starting a fire. I have been lucky a few times...wind shift from east to west.
When I go out in the shoulder season...I have a fixed turn around time and GPS that has sunset information on my primary screen. As Bruin Dave pointed out and I noticed yesterday morning, these folks were not prepared for shoulder season day, contrary to what the ignorant media espoused. Micro packs, shorts and t-shirts, no jackets and trail/road running shoes. The packs I saw did not have enough room for clothing and helmets...so I'm am assuming no one had one.
This is a dangerous overused area, according to reports. I have seen people in their finest Salomon Speedcross 3 sliding down the decomposing granite on if it bleeds it leads new reports over the years.
