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Fire on the Mountain: FireRescue recalls the South Canyon Fire
Fire on the Mountain: FireRescue recalls the South Canyon Fire
By FireRescue Editor-in-Chief Timothy E. Sendelbach
The South Canyon Fire is perhaps one of the most controversial fires in U.S. history. To this day, it sparks conversation and concern about firefighters’—and commanding officers’—understanding of entrapment situations, situational awareness, LCES, etc. In short, it stirs emotion because it was an avoidable tragedy.
Prineville Hotshots: Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Terri Hagen, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Jon Kelso.
Missoula Smokejumpers: Don Mackey, Roger Roth, Jim Thrash.
Helitack: Robert Browning, Jr., Richard Tyler.
The fire actually began days earlier on July 2, when lightning sparked an area near the base of Storm King Mountain, 7 miles west of Glenwood Springs, Colo. It was not considered a high-priority fire, however, because 2 days later, it had only burned 3 acres. But due to increased pressure from nearby residents who were concerned about the fire’s persistence, local authorities decided to take action.
On July 5, firefighters hiked up Storm King Mountain, constructing fireline as they went. Twenty Prineville Hotshots, based in Oregon, joined the fight the following day, but their efforts were in vain. At about 4 p.m. on July 6, the fire jumped the fireline and spotted below the firefighter’s location. Flames then raced back up the mountain with such speed, they took the lives of 12 firefighters who had tried to outrun them. Two other helitack crewmembers also perished when they tried to run northwest of the oncoming flames. The remaining 35 firefighters, all of whom survived, either deployed their shelters or escaped out the east drainage.
Incident Discussion
While each and every line-of-duty death presents the fire service with a unique learning experience (very important, yet far too expensive), South Canyon is a fire that brings a new topic to the forefront: HUMAN ERROR. Human error is found on each and every fireground regardless of the outcome; it’s the reality of life. No one is perfect, and no incident (with human interaction) is without human error.
Dr. Ted Putnam of the USDA Forest Service put it best when he said, “…studying the human side of fatal wildland fire accidents is overdue.” I would take Dr. Putnam’s comment one step further and say that the study of human error in all incidents that cause injury or death to firefighters is overdue.
South Canyon is NOT an incident with lessons restricted to the wildland industry; it speaks to the entire fire service—WUI, structural, ARFF, you name it. High-stress decision-making clouded by fear and panic are common factors in organizational breakdowns in all areas of the fire service. How we make decisions and the decisions we make under stressful situations are items seldom discussed in the fire service. These are the CRITICAL LESSONS (as discussed in detail below) left behind by our brothers and sisters who perished on Storm King Mountain.
Tactical Points for Discussion
• What role does stress, fear and panic play in the decision-making process, and what can we (the fire service—instructors, company officers and chief officers) do to prevent it or overcome it during emergency operations?
• What role does company or group cohesion play in effective decision-making, and how can group behavior affect the success or failure of a high-stress incident?
• How does our decision-making differ between small-scale incidents and large, rapidly developing incidents? What methods can be employed to prevent the over-reliance on narrow, focused, subjective decision-making (decisions based on limited information)?
Critical Lessons
1. Always assume the worst—Never treat a fire as a “routine incident.”
2. Crew cohesion is critical—All crews working on an incident need to be coordinated via the ICS system. Crew fragmentation should be avoided if at all possible (for multiple tasks, call more companies).
3. Communications are key—Like any incident, clear, precise communications is critical to a successful outcome. To reduce confusion, use closed-loop communications, repeat orders to confirm assignments, and draw mental pictures for ICs and division/group supervisors using effective verbal communications.
4. Check your habituated patterns—Under stress, we resort to our most common behaviors. What we do every day is what we’ll resort to doing when under pressure. Make sure your “everyday” training is safe, effective and conducive to individual and company-level success. Redundant training builds muscle memory and will save lives if done appropriately.
5. Review Crew Resource Management – CRM is a concept that’s been talked about in recent years, but we have yet to capture its full benefit on the fireground. We should all review the concepts of CRM and determine how to best apply them on the fireground, amongst our crews and throughout our training so that we can capitalize on the added safety they provide to us, our crew and the customers we protect.
Recommended Reading
• http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/usda/blm_putnam_storm_king.pdf
• Butler, Bret W., et al. Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado. 1998. Missoula Fire Lab. Available online at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp009/index.html.
This research report examines the probable fire behavior and movements of the crew leading up to the fatalities at South Canyon.
• Maclean, John N. Fire on the Mountain. William Morrow. 1999.
An account of the 1994 South Canyon fire in Colorado where 14 firefighters were killed, among them hotshots, helitack and smokejumpers. Like his father before him did with the Mann Gulch Fire, John Maclean attempts to tell what happened and why. This fire and its aftermath had a huge impact on fire management policy.
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