A Boise Bureau of Land Management smokejumper died Friday afternoon in a training accident near Prairie, Idaho.
Originally published at 8:46 p.m. MDT, September 27; updated at 8:30 a.m. MDT, September 28.
A Boise Bureau of Land Management smokejumper died Friday afternoon, September 27, in a parachuting accident. Mark T. Urban, 40, was killed after his canopy failed to properly deploy. The accident occurred about 45 miles east of Boise, near Smith’s Prairie at about 12:30 p.m. MDT.
Preliminary information from the BLM indicated that he was conducting a research and development jump using a new device to designed to assist in deploying the canopy.
He had been a jumper for 10 years.
Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Urban’s family and co-workers.
A wildfire entrapped 15 smokejumpers and a fire guard in Mann Gulch on August 5, 1949 on the Helena National Forest in Montana. The fire took the lives of 13 men and burned nearly 5,000 acres.
The fatalities:
Robert J. Bennett
Eldon E. Diettert
James O. Harrison
William J. Hellman
Philip R. McVey
David R. Navon
Leonard L. Piper
Stanley J. Reba
Marvin L. Sherman
Joseph B. Sylvia
Henry J. Thol, Jr.
Newton R. Thompson
Silas R. Thompson
The 13 men who were killed in the Mann Gulch fire. U. S. Forest Service photo.
In light of the June 30 deaths of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots on the Yarnell Hill Fire and their attempted use of an escape fire to create a refuge zone, you may be interested in a paper that analyzed Smokejumper Foreman Wag Dodge’s escape fire that probably saved his life on the Mann Gulch Fire. In the 27-page document written by Martin E. Alexander, Mark Y. Ackerman, and Gregory J. Baxter, they concluded that the size of Mr. Dodge’s escape fire was about 120 feet by 86 feet when it was overrun by flames from the main fire. Mr. Dodge later told investigators that he explained to the firefighters nearby that after the escape fire spread and cooled in the interior, they should take refuge in the new burned area with him. Unfortunately, none of them did.
The paper includes a statement made by Mr. Dodge that was included in Earl Cooley’s 1984 book, Trimotor and Trail.
When the main fire reached my area, I lay down on the ground on my side and poured water from my canteen on my handkerchief over my mouth and nose and held my face as close to the ground as I could while the flames flashed over me. There were three extreme gusts of hot air that almost lifted me from the ground as the fire passed over me. It was running in the grass and also flashing through the tree tops. By 6:10 p.m. the fire had passed by and I stood up. My clothing had not been scorched and I had no burns.
Here is a photo of Mann Gulch taken in 2008, from The Travels of John and Breya.
Firefighters conducted a burnout adjacent to an avalanche chute Friday, June 14, on the Big Meadows Fire. NPS photo
The Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park has grown to either 496 or 603 acres; both numbers are listed on the fire’s main InciWeb page. Some of the acreage is a result of burn outs conducted by firefighters to take advantage of natural barriers such as an avalanche chute. The Incident Commander lists the fire at 60 percent contained. Uploaded maps can be found on InciWeb.
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(UPDATE at 9:40 a.m. MT, June 14, 2013)
Fire activity Thursday was largely limited to an area on the eastern flank of the fire on south facing slopes. Hand crews constructed and strengthened fire lines along the northwest flank of the fire. Crews working along Tonahutu Creek continued efforts to install hose lays to strengthen containment along the southern flank of the fire.
Today firefighting resources will include an initial attack module of seven fire-fighters, two 20-person Type 1 hotshot crews, two 20-person Type 2 hand crews, and five fire engines.
After an infrared mapping flight, the size of the fire was determined to be 333 acres, a reduction due to more accurate information. The fire is listed at 30 percent containment.
Big Meadows Fire June 11, 2013
(UPDATE at 6 p.m. MT, June 13, 2013)
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 3:28 a.m. MT, 6-13-2013
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(UPDATE at 8:46 a.m. MT, June 13, 2013)
A shortage of wildland firefighters is impacting the suppression of the Big Meadows fire. Fire managers said there are not enough Type 1 hand crews available for them to obtain the resources they need. The 19 percent reduction in the number of federal wildland firefighters over the last two years may have contributed to this situation that makes it more difficult to put out fires.
Below is an excerpt from an update issued by fire managers:
There are 107 firefighters currently on the Big Meadows Fire plus the Type 2 team who will be taking over command of the fire from the Boise Smokejumper Type 3 team tomorrow. Air resources include one Type 1 helicopter, one Type 2 helicopter and two Type 3 helicopters. Many firefighters will be camping out near the fire tonight to get an early morning start to continue with fire suppression tactics.
A challenge continues to be filling additional Type 1 crews. Due to other fires in Colorado, as well as in other states that are impacting communities and homes, resources are being spread across the nation.
The fire managers are calling the fire 600 acres with zero containment.
The area is under a Red Flag Warning until 9 p.m. today for 10-20 mph winds gusting up to 30 mph, relative humidity as low as 14 percent, and thunderstorms with little if any rain, possibly producing more fires.
The Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team A was scheduled to assume command of the fire at 6 a.m. today. Their Incident Command Post is the Granby High School.
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(UPDATE at 6:12 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)
The Rocky Mountain Geographic Area reports the Big Meadow Fire has now burned 600 acres. It is making upslope runs and is spotting out ahead of the main fire.
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(UPDATE at 2:52 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 1:43 p.m. MT, 6-12-2013 (click to enlarge)
The above map contains new data on the location of the Big Meadow Fire. It shows the approximate location of heat detected by a satellite which was collected at 1:43 p.m. MT today. The locations of the squares can be as much as a mile in error. The data indicates that the fire moved a bit toward the southeast.
(Originally published at 7:52 a.m. MT, June 12, 2013; updated at 12:13 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)
The Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park started from a lightning strike on Monday. Tuesday it grew from two acres to 400 by the end of the day. Wednesday around noon the Park updated the number of acres burned to 500.
The fire is about 4 miles from the Green Mountain Trailhead in a relatively remote section of Rocky Mountain National Park west of the Continental Divide. Around 1:00 p.m. Tuesday firefighters experienced extremely gusty winds that both deterred deploying smokejumpers and increased the fire’s growth. No structures or communities are threatened.
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 2:40 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013
The map of the Big Meadows Fire above shows the fire to be west of the Continental Divide and 13 miles from Estes Park. The Park posted a zoomed-in topographic map of the fire perimeter Wednesday morning.
The fire is burning in heavy timber and moving to the northeast toward Nakai Peak. No structures or communities are threatened.
A Boise Smokejumper Type 3 Incident Management Team has taken over management of the fire, with Incident Commander Matt Bowers. The Park apparently likes having smokejumpers from Boise manage their fires, as evidenced by this fire and the Fern Lake fire of 2012.
The Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team A has been dispatched and is expected to inbrief Wednesday morning and transition Thursday morning.
Fire managers have ordered additional air and ground resources including three additional helicopters and five additional Type 1 crews. The weather forecast is for more warm, dry and windy conditions Wednesday and the fire is expected to be active.
The Park’s Tuesday morning press release said the National Park Service reluctantly decided to suppress the fire, rather than let it burn, citing extended drought conditions and reduced interagency resources, which influenced the decision, they said. Then a few hours later, it was off to the races — and it could be a long race unless there is a major change in the weather very soon.
Smokejumpers have been getting a lot of press over the last few weeks — and then Luke Sheehy, a jumper from the Redding base, was killed on a fire Monday — may he rest in peace.
A student group from the University of Oregon recently won an award for a five-minute video they produced that featured jumpers out of Redmond, Oregon. Up in Smoke collected a Hearst Award for Multimedia Team Storytelling. Entries submitted for the award were evaluated on a team’s ability to cover news for an online audience using multimedia techniques with an emphasis on multimedia storytelling, quality journalism and creative use of the medium.
You can judge it for yourself:
My opinion? I would give it a Thumbs Up, except for the thumping sounds in the background that at times drowned out the speakers.
(Originally published at 11:12 a.m. MT, June 11, 2013; updated at 12:30 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013)
The U.S. Forest Service has released the following statement:
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“US Forest Service wildland firefighter dies in Northern California
Release Date: Jun 11, 2013
VALLEJO, Calif. – A 28-year-old firefighter from Susanville, Calif., died Monday afternoon [June 10] as a result of injuries received on a wildfire on the Modoc National Forest in northeast California. Luke Sheehy was a member of the California Smokejumpers, based out of Redding.
Sheehy was struck by a falling portion of a tree on the Saddle Back Fire in the South Warner Wilderness about 15 miles southeast of Alturas, Calif. The incident occurred just before 5 p.m. Efforts to resuscitate Sheehy were not successful. He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Alturas where he was pronounced dead.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this brave young smokejumper who lost his life yesterday working with his team to control a blaze on the Modoc National Forest,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “We are launching a full review into the cause of his death to learn everything we can to prevent future tragedies like this.”
Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore echoed Chief Tidwell’s sentiments. “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. It’s a devastating loss and is being felt throughout the entire Forest Service.”
The Saddle Back Fire is one of several dozen lightning-caused fires that began on multiple national forests throughout northern California on Sunday and Monday. It was first reported to the Modoc Interagency Communications Center about 3 p.m. Monday. Several U.S. Forest Service firefighters remain on scene suppressing the fire.”
