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The Thirty Mile Fire started on July 10, 2001, on the state of Washington's Okanogan National Forest. Four firefighter's lives were taken in the fire:Tom Craven, Karen FitzPatrick, Jessica Johnson and Devin Weaver. $32,000 was spent on the memorial, but there has been a big conflict because many people do not believe that enough disciplinary action was given to the people that started the fire. [1]
| Thirtymile fire | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 10, 2001 |
| Location | Okanogan National Forest, Okanogan County, Washington, United States |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | Four, one severely burned |
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Origins of the Fire[edit]
Starting from high temperatures, low humidity, and severe drought conditions allowed an abandoned cooking fire to erupt and swallow the Chewuch River Valley. [2]
What seemed like a very controllable fire, commanders assigned a crew of 21 firefighters to diminish the outbreak, in which they believed that they'd have the job completed by nightfall. However, the temperature of the blaze was nearing 100 degrees, and it was spreading fast. Unfortunately, by mid-afternoon, the crew had to watch the fire crawl up the slope on the opposite side of the valley, where they had to call in for more help. [3]
Firefighting Difficulties[edit]
Adding on the dangerous task at hand, firefighters were restricted from entering the area where the fire had started because it was a designated wilderness area (technically called a special-study area). Also, due to the questions raised about "whether a Forest Service policy of denying work to older firefighters because of an arcane government hiring technicality left tire crews short of experienced hands, thus contributing to the tragedy." [4]
"Over the next 90 minutes, the firefighters proceeded to break most all of the Forest Service's cardinal 10 Standard Fire Orders, failing to do everything from posting lookouts to identifying escape routes. Trapped when the fire began burning across the only road out of the area, "the crew was not prepared for the suddenness with which it arrived," the Forest Service's accident report states. "A rain of burning embers was followed by a rolling wave of heat, fire , smoke, and wind." As the crew members frantically tried to deploy their portable fire shelters, the fire overtook Karen FitzPatrick, 18; Jessica Johnson, 19; Devin Weaver, 21, and crew boss Tom Craven, 30--asphyxiating them in heat so intense that it transformed a pickup truck into a pile of molten aluminum." The crew almost lost 16 firefighters-more than half of their crew. [5]
See Also[edit]
2000-2001 fires in the western United States
United States Fire Administration
References[edit]
- ^ Malkin, Michelle. “Forest service blowing smoke over the deaths of firefighters.” Insight on the News 22 July 2002: 46. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.
- ^ Malkin, Michelle. “Forest service blowing smoke over the deaths of firefighters.” Insight on the News 22 July 2002: 46. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.
- ^ Markels, Alex. “Cutting through smoke - As forest fires mount, one tragedy points to a system in trouble.” U.S. News and World Report 30 Aug. 2004: 28. NewsBank Access World News. Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=104AD225A3378035&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=2>.
- ^ Paige, Sean. “Accountability begins at the bottom in the U.S. Forest Service. (waste & abuse).” Insight on the News 17 June 2002: 8. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.
- ^ Markels, Alex. “Cutting through smoke - As forest fires mount, one tragedy points to a system in trouble.” U.S. News and World Report 30 Aug. 2004: 28. NewsBank Access World News. Web. 16 Oct. 2009. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=104AD225A3378035&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=2>.