 |
 |
|
On Inferno:
Other Websites:
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
English > Historical Fires > Storm King Fire
In July of 1994, the Storm King fire (also known as the South Canyon Fire), like most fires, started out as a routine fire, and became a very eerie, almost exact repeat of the Mann Gulch fire. A small fire was started, started by lightning on Storm King Mountain, near Glenwood Springs, in Colorado. The fire was visible to many people, because it was close to Interstate 70, but it was very small (about 50 acres), and wasn’t growing rapidly. In other words, it was very low on the priority list for getting firefighters. Finally, a group of 52 firefighters and smokejumpers were brought together to stop the blaze.
The people split up into two crews, most of them going below the fire to keep it from moving further towards the Interstate. Out of nowhere, the wind completely changed direction, now gusting at speeds up to 47 miles per hour (76 km/h) directly into the firefighters. The wind created an unimaginable wall of flame, that was moving at them at a speed of about 30 feet (9 meters) per second. The flames were reaching 200 – 300 feet (60-90 meters) high. The fire was not only above them, but it had moved below them, also. There was actually a short ridge between them and the fire, so they weren’t aware that it was as close as it was. It was about 270 feet (82 m) from them, and so
when they started running, it took only 10 to 15 seconds for the fire to reach where they were standing before they started running.
The firefighters were trained in these situations, though, because of what happened at the Mann Gulch fire. Unfortunately, there weren’t that many burned areas for the firefighters to find refuge in, and although they had survival shelters (metallic material that is fire resistant), a lot of the firefighters tried to run uphill, to a ridgeline, to try to escape the torrent of fire.
Unfortunately some firefighters didn’t make it in time, or were caught elsewhere. The fire that had started as a small, slow moving 50 acre fire, had just exploded into a 2,000 acre fire, killing 14 firefighters from Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. Many of them were young people who were planning on going to do bigger and better things after they finished firefighting that season.
There is now a whole memorial on Storm King Mountain, in remembrance of the people who died. One of the aftereffects of the fire, was that the brother of one of the firefighters killed, Jim Roth, formed a company that produces innovative firefighter protection products.
Pictures & Diagrams:
These pictures and diagrams are from the Forest Service's report on the fire (the link opens in a new window)
The location of the South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain
An overview of the mountain
An overview of the mountain, looking down the main ridge
An overview of the mountain, from the air
What the forest looked like
The blowup, in chronological order (picture taken from the photo spot, as labeled on the pictures of Storm King Mountain)
The blowup, photo 2
The blowup, photo 3
The blowup, photo 4
The fireline that the firefighters were working on, after the fire swept over it
Don Mackey's mom, planting tulips where he died (he was a smokejumper from Missoula, Montana)
In Memoriam:
|> Kathi Beck
|> Scott Blecha
|> Tammi Bickett
|> Levi Brinkley
|> Robert Browning
|> Doug Dunbar
|> Terri Hagen
|> Bonnie Holtby
|> Rob Johnson
|> Jon Kelso
|> Don Mackey
|> Roger Roth
|> Jim Thrash
|> Richard Tyler
© ThinkQuest Team C0119184 :: Credits & Sources
|
|
|
|
|
