El Cariso Archives - Page 3 of 4

Firefighters on Falls fire observe anniversary of Decker Fire

Bill GabbertAugust 8, 2013August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia, Decker Fire, El Cariso1 Comment

Firefighters on the Falls Fire at Lake Elsinore, California today are wrapping up the incident. It is in the same location as the Decker Fire exactly 54 years ago today that killed six firefighters. This morning a moment of silence was observed on the fire in memory of those six. Three of them were members of the El Cariso Hotshots.

On August 8, 1959 the Hotshots and engine crews were on the Ortega Highway above the fire firing out along the highway. The bowl where the fire occurred has an unusual but predictable diurnal wind pattern, with downslope breezes during the afternoon that stop at about 8 p.m. With the fire below them, the wind stopped at 8 p.m. and several large fire whirls developed on the fire that traveled up the slope, entrapping the firefighters.

The diagram below is from a report about the fire and shows the tactics being used just before the blowup. Click it to see a larger version.

The maps below are from our article about the Falls Fire. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite before the fire spread east across the South Main Divide and down through the bowl where the Decker Fire fatalities occurred. Click on them to see larger versions.

Map of Falls Fire at 1:47 p.m. PDT, August 5, 2013, showing heat detected by a satellite. The red squares indicating heat can be as much as a mile in error. (click to enlarge)

3-D Map of Falls Fire at 1:47 p.m. PDT, August 5, 2013, looking northwest. The red squared represent heat detected by a satellite; they can be as much as a mile in error. (click to enlarge)

A current map of the Falls Fire is on InciWeb.

This article was corrected on 8/8/2013 to show that a total of six firefighters were killed. Five died during or shortly after the incident, and a sixth passed away five weeks later from his burn injuries. The fire report referenced above indicates that only five were killed but must have been prepared before the sixth person died.

Loop fire survivor talks

Bill GabbertMarch 8, 2013May 15, 2020UncategorizedCalifornia, Decker Fire, El Cariso, history, Loop Fire2 Comments

Loop Fire 1966 — Loop Fire, November 1, 1966

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has published the video below featuring Gerald Smith, a survivor of the 1966 Loop Fire on the Angeles National Forest in southern California visiting the site of the tragedy. The video is very powerful. Mr. Smith reads a letter from one of the other victims that was written while he was in the hospital shortly before he passed away. Mr. Smith also talks about his 20-year struggle after the burnover, dealing with the lingering effects and the eventual positive outcome.

On November 1, 1966, the El Cariso Hotshots were trapped by flames as they worked on a steep hillside in Pacoima Canyon on the Angeles National Forest.

Ten members of the crew perished on the Loop Fire that day. Another two members succumbed from burn injuries in the following days. Most of the nineteen members who survived were critically burned and remained hospitalized for some time.

Lessons learned from the Loop Fire resulted in the checklist for downhill line construction, improved firefighting equipment, better fire behavior training, and the implementation of new firefighter safety protocols.

The El Cariso Hot Shots experienced another tragedy in 1959 when three members of the crew were entrapped and killed on the Decker Fire near Elsinore, California.

Wildland firefighter memorial dedicated in California

Bill GabbertOctober 8, 2011August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia, Decker Fire, El Cariso

Dedication of the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial. Photo: Southwest Riverside News Network

After two decades of planning and overcoming funding shortfalls, the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial was dedicated on Saturday west of Elsinore, California off the Ortega Highway about two miles from the location of the 1959 Decker fire which killed six firefighters. It is a few hundred yards east of the U. S. Forest Service El Cariso engine station, which is across the highway from the former location of the El Cariso Hot Shot camp. I worked at both places in the 1970s.

More than 300 firefighters and family members paid tribute at the memorial which will display about 200 plaques in remembrance of the 400 people who died fighting wildland fires in California.

Here is an excerpt from an article at SWNN.com:

After more than 50 years, Carlo Guthrie still cries over her husband’s death—and on Saturday, her tears were bittersweet. Carlo, the wife of fallen California Division of Forestry fire truck driver John Guthrie, was among the more than 300 who gathered for the dedication of the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial off the Ortega Highway.

“The tears will never stop. I bet you everything when there’s a wildland fire, there’s widows out there watching that fire, I always am,” she said. “And now there’s a place where John and all California firefighters who gave the ultimate sacrifice can be honored.”

The memorial site sits off the Ortega in the hills above Lake Elsinore, and near the grounds where crews battled the deadly 1959 Decker blaze, which claimed the life of John and five other firefighters.

It serves as a spot where families, comrades and survivors can reflect. The memorial consists of a red brick Maltese cross, guarded by a rock wall with fire plaques embossed with the names of fatal fires, the county, year and the number of fire personnel lost in the blaze. The ground in front of the monument is covered in red bricks engraved with the names of fallen firefighters.

Photos and more details about the dedication ceremony.

Web site for the California Wildland Firefighter Memorial

The Decker fire, 51 years ago today

Bill GabbertAugust 8, 2010August 8, 2013UncategorizedDecker Fire, El Cariso

On August 8, 1959 the El Cariso Hot Shots experienced the first of two fire tragedies El Cariso would be involved in. The fire was the Decker Fire located in the foothills above Lake Elsinore, California. Seven people were overrun by six and lost their lives. Three were members of the El Cariso Hotshot Crew.

For more info:
http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/Decker_Fire_1959.pdf

Loop fire, 43 years ago

BillNovember 3, 2009March 8, 2013UncategorizedCalifornia, Decker Fire, El Cariso, fatality, history, lodd, Loop Fire5 Comments

On November 1, 1966, the El Cariso Hotshots were trapped by flames as they worked on a steep hillside in Pacoima Canyon on the Angeles National Forest.

Decker fire, 50 years ago today

Bill GabbertAugust 8, 2009August 8, 2013UncategorizedCalifornia, Decker Fire, El Cariso, history, Loop Fire

On August 8, 1959 the El Cariso Hot Shots experienced the first of two fire tragedies the crew would be involved in. The fire was the Decker Fire located in the foothills above Lake Elsinore, California. Seven people were overrun by fire and six lost their lives. Three were members of the El Cariso Hotshot Crew.

In 1966 12 members of the crew were killed when they were entrapped on the Loop Fire.

For more info: