Crew that deployed fire shelters on King Fire had three minutes to run to a safer area

Gary Dahlen award
Pilot Gary Dahlen, center, is recognized for his actions to aid a crew that was threatened by a rapidly spreading fire. Photo courtesy of CAL FIRE.

The 12 people that deployed fire shelters on the King Fire in northern California on September 15 were in a spot near heavy timber that may or may not have been survivable, even in the shelters they had climbed under. Gary Dahlem, flying a Bell 205 overhead, told the crew that they should relocate, and they had three minutes to run out of the timber to an area with lighter fuels.

Amy Wang of the Arizona Republic interviewed Mr. Dahlem and got his story about how it all developed. Here are a couple of excepts from the beginning of her article:

The command that blared from the radio was one Gary Dahlen had never heard before, not in all his years piloting helicopters over wildfires.

“All available helicopters prepare for an emergency launch.”

He hardly knew what to make of it. “I was thinking maybe structures were threatened,” Dahlen said later.
[…]

He quickly climbed into his flight suit, then into his seat. As the helicopter’s turbo engine whined to life, someone from the fire command staff came sprinting toward the aircraft, reached in and punched latitude-and-longitude coordinates into Dahlen’s GPS.

That was when he learned the emergency: It was a shelter deployment.

We were listening to the radio traffic during the incident and live-blogged about it that day.

On September 23 Mr. Dahlen received an award for his actions.

Mr. Dahlen said receiving the accurate lat/long from the people on the ground was instrumental in him being able to find them and direct them to safety.

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The article was revised to say that receiving the accurate lat/long from the people on the ground was instrumental in the pilot being able to find them and direct them to safety.

 

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

3 thoughts on “Crew that deployed fire shelters on King Fire had three minutes to run to a safer area”

  1. If you are a wildland firefighter, you need to read the Arizona Republic Article. Its quite humbling.

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  2. Thank’s for a job well done.I’m also a wildl land firefighter 25 yrs Louisiana crew leader heavy

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