Thirty Mile Fire
Encyclopedia
The Thirtymile Fire started as an escaped picnic cooking fire on July 9, 2001, in the Chewuch river canyon, approximately 30 miles north of the town of Winthrop, on the Okanogan National Forest
in the state of Washington. On the evening of July 9, the Libby South Fire was already burning 50 miles (80.5 km) to the south, and this fire exceeded 1000 acres (4 km²). To the north on the Thirtymile Fire, four firefighters were killed in the fire:Tom Craven, Karen FitzPatrick, Jessica Johnson and Devin Weaver.
High temperatures, low humidity
, and severe drought
conditions combined to allow an abandoned cooking fire to grow into a huge and fatal fire.
The Thirtymile seemed at first to be a very controllable fire
, and fire managers assigned a crew of 21 firefighters, estimating that the fire would be contained by nightfall. However, the temperature on the day of the blaze was nearing 100 degrees, and the fire was spreading fast. By mid-afternoon, the crew watched the fire crawl up the slope on the opposite side of the valley
, and they called in for more help.
"... 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 shelter
s, the fire overtook Karen FitzPatrick, 18; Jessica Johnson, 19; Devin Weaver, 21, and squad boss Tom Craven, 30 — asphyxiating them in heat so intense that it transformed a pickup truck into a pile of molten aluminum
."
In 2001 the U.S. Forest Service released the Thirtymile Fire Investigation Report.
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/lessons/documents/Thirtymile_Reports/Thirtymile-Final-Report-2.pdf
Wildfire
Natural Hazards
Wildfire suppression
2000-2001 fires in the western United States
United States Fire Administration
Okanogan National Forest
The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in northern and western Okanogan County in north-central Washington State, United States...
in the state of Washington. On the evening of July 9, the Libby South Fire was already burning 50 miles (80.5 km) to the south, and this fire exceeded 1000 acres (4 km²). To the north on the Thirtymile Fire, four firefighters were killed in the fire:Tom Craven, Karen FitzPatrick, Jessica Johnson and Devin Weaver.
Origins of the Fire
Those responsible for abandoning the campfire that started the fire were never identified.High temperatures, low humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
, and severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
conditions combined to allow an abandoned cooking fire to grow into a huge and fatal fire.
The Thirtymile seemed at first to be a very controllable fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
, and fire managers assigned a crew of 21 firefighters, estimating that the fire would be contained by nightfall. However, the temperature on the day of the blaze was nearing 100 degrees, and the fire was spreading fast. By mid-afternoon, the crew watched the fire crawl up the slope on the opposite side of the valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
, and they called in for more help.
Firefighting Difficulties
The area where the fire had started was not within a designated wilderness, but was located in a Forest Service-designated special-study area. The fire's location caused communication difficulties regarding the firefighters' request for helicopter support because of confusion over the legality of dipping water from a "protected" river. Details of the helicopter dispatch issues are explained in author John N. Maclean's book The Thirtymile Fire:"... the firefighters proceeded to break most all of the Forest Service
Forest Service
Forest Service may refer to:* Canadian Forest Service* Indian Forest Service* New Zealand Forest Service* United States Forest Service* Forestry Commission in the United Kingdom...
'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
Forest Service
Forest Service may refer to:* Canadian Forest Service* Indian Forest Service* New Zealand Forest Service* United States Forest Service* Forestry Commission in the United Kingdom...
's accident report states. "A rain of burning embers was followed by a rolling wave of heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
, fire , smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
, and wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
." As the crew members frantically tried to deploy their portable fire shelter
Fire shelter
A fire shelter is a safety device of last resort used by wildland firefighters when trapped by wildfires. It is designed to reflect radiant heat, protect against convective heat, and trap breathable air in an attempt to save the firefighter's life...
s, the fire overtook Karen FitzPatrick, 18; Jessica Johnson, 19; Devin Weaver, 21, and squad boss Tom Craven, 30 — asphyxiating them in heat so intense that it transformed a pickup truck into a pile of molten aluminum
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
."
In 2001 the U.S. Forest Service released the Thirtymile Fire Investigation Report.
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/lessons/documents/Thirtymile_Reports/Thirtymile-Final-Report-2.pdf
See also
Oakland Hills FireWildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
Natural Hazards
Wildfire suppression
2000-2001 fires in the western United States
2000-2001 Fires in the Western United States
The 2000-2001 Western United States wildfires were a series of unusually severe wildfires that caused more than $2 billion in damage and resulted in the deaths of four firefighters. The damage was particularly severe in the Bitterroot National Forest....
United States Fire Administration
United States Fire Administration
The United States Fire Administration is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.-History:...