Report details burned Valley fire firefighters’ harrowing ordeal (Must Read)

Overwhelmed by spot fires in bone-dry pine needles and leaf litter at their feet, a Cal Fire captain and three firefighters retreated to a patch of bare earth on a Cobb Mountain ridgetop during the first hour of the voracious Valley fire on Sept. 12.

But they were not safe for long in the fenced goat pen where they took refuge. The wind picked up, the spot fires multiplied and one man saw the flames “sheeting and swirling” across a nearby driveway.

Then, a brush-covered slope “torched into a wall of flame,” according to Cal Fire’s first published report on the blaze that killed three people and charred 76,067 acres in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties.

“They could feel their faces burning from the radiant heat,” said the report, which was posted Saturday on the blog wildfiretoday.com.

In vivid detail, the report — called a green sheet — describes how one firefighter had to remove his gloves to tear the melted plastic covering away from the aluminum shell of his shelter. Another firefighter couldn’t get his shelter out of its case because the plastic cover had melted and fused to a white plastic protective sleeve. break

One firefighter attempted to drink from a hydration pack but found the water from the mouthpiece was “too hot to drink.” break

Reading between the lines of this report, this fire crew waited a bit too long to get to bare ground and get in their "Baked Potatoes" - the aluminum tents used as fire shelters. Most fire crews with experience identify emergency areas near them to go to shelter to be ready if the fire "crowns" (spreads fast across the tops of the threes) and traps them. With ground covered by debris and pine needles and though it wasn't mentioned, a high Haynes index (high temperature, low humidity) they were standing in a bonfire.

Also obviously they only had a helicopter water/retardant drops available - no fixed wing. When you have a really big, fast-moving fire that's "pluming" (forming a huge column of hot air and smoke) - there's no substitute for the big boys dropping water.

Finally; somebody else who has actually fought fire and understands the requirements for the use of a fire shelter.
In most cases like this you have a choice; fry like bacon, or bake like a potato.
I was on the Canyon Fire in 1968 ( Chilao Hotshots, Crew 1-5-3). The only thing that saved me and my crew pusher (we were out front hotspotting) when the whole mountainside blew up. To far away to get back to the line, found a rock ledge on the mountain side and got ready to burn.
Gary had an airnet radio and called in the bombers.
Back then the bombers were old WW-2 B-17’s and the pilots were absolute nut cases (how can any pilot get an aircraft that big 90 degrees angle from a 45 degree mountainside), best site in the world is the bomb doors opening and the pink snot coming at you like a tidal wave.
3 runs by the B-17’s and 3 to 6 acres around you with no fire, best feeling in the world.
Never did meet any of the pilots, if I had they would have just needed to mark the spot they wanted kissed.
Helicopters are good, they just don’t hold enough water or retardant, fire shelters are good for grass or light brush fires, in class 14 brush you are still usually going to die.

Thank God you had comm and those ballsy B-17 drivers or we'd be short one Freeper and I am assuming by your tag, a Marine as well.

I was never a professional fire fighter but for some stupid reason, I found myself fighting brush fires, range fires, big tree fires and even house fires several times in my life.

My closest call - and there are always close calls in fire fighting - was in 1970 in Saugus California. I was coming home from work at Lockheed Rye Canyon and spotted a big brush fire going up some slopes, heading for houses. I had a shovel in my trunk, so I went up the hill to the fire crew and joined them, killing spots on the good side of a firebreak. We had two more volunteers on the hill plus a four real firemen with a hose and fogger nozzle working the other side of the fire break.

All of a sudden, I heard loud "whuff" sound and saw a wall of fire racing towards us. I saw that the fire crew was standing frozen with their fire hose and that the fire was going to overrun them. I yelled at them to drop the hose and run to us on the firebreak and they did. We lay on the ground face down and I stabbed the hose with my knife to get water to spray over us. The fire jumped over us on that firebreak and people on the ground thought that we were goners. I remember gagging and throwing up and being partially blinded by the smoke and that one of the young firemen was unconscious. I had burns on my back but other than that I was OK. We carried the unconscious guy up that hill to the homes and remember being disgusted that homeowners didn't lift a finger to help us.

Later on in my Marine Corps career, I led an artillery battalion to Chelan Washington to fight a 128,000 acre tree fire. That's where I learned about baked potatoes and Haynes numbers. At one point, I had two of my "fire companies" (128 men each) at the top of an escarpment and I saw that the fire was pluming and moving quickly towards them. I turned to my forest service liaison officer and told him to get my guys down from that place - now. He told me to leave that decision to the people on-site who know best.

I told him that those are my Marines: I'm the one responsible for them, I'm the one who will have to report to their parents if I lose them, and I'm the one that would carry that burden all my life - get 'em down now!"

They got them down and I replaced my liaison officer at the same time.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.