1933 — Oct 3, brush fire, unemployed relief workers killed, Griffith Park, L.A., CA  —    29

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 12-26-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  36  Oakland Tribune, CA. “Probe Ordered To Fix Blame For Holocaust.” 10-4-1933, p. 3.[1]

—  35  AP. “26 Bodies Recovered…L.A. Probes Fire Horror.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-1933, p.1.[2]

—  33  Associated Press. “Worst Wildfires in Recent California History.” October 22, 2007.

—  33  Los Angeles Fire Dept. “The Fire of `33, Part One.” Glendale News-Press, 10-1-1993.

—  29  Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive. “The Griffith Park Fire.”

–>29  Sullivan, Meghan. “Griffith Park Fire Stirs Visions of 1933 Destruction.” NPR. 5-9-2007.[3]

—  29  United Press. “29th Fire Victim Dies.” The Bakersfield Californian, 10-17-1933, p. 5.

—  28  AP. “Griffith Park Held Serious Fire Menace…” Modesto Bee, CA. 10-12-1933, p. 4.

—  28  INS. “Griffith Fire No Accident Officer Says.” Oxnard Daily Courier, CA. 10-11-1933, p1.

—  28  NFPA. “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” 1983 NFPA Handbook. 1984, p. 34.

—  28  National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. 

—  28  National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 139.

—  28  Oxnard Daily Courier, CA. “15 Still Missing.” 10-13-1933, p. 1.

—  28  Scott. “Los Angeles Brush Fire Disaster.” Quarterly of the NFPA, 27/3, Jan 1934, p. 194.

—  28  UP. “Griffith Park Deaths Laid To Negligence.” Santa Ana Register, CA. 10-16-1933, p1.

—  27  The Quarterly. “The Los Angeles Park Fire.” NFPA, Vol. 27, No. 2, October 1933.

 Blanchard note: We searched California newspapers through the end of November and the largest death toll (other than unreliable next day) we found was 29 with the death of a burn victim on October 17. While the Los Angeles Fire Department site we note above shows 33 deaths, the Sullivan article on this fire for NPR shows “more than 29” and cites Los Angeles Fire Department’s historical archive. That site, however, does not note that “more than 29” died. It states that “29 workers [died] of thermal burns.” Thus, this is the number of fatalities we show.

 Narrative Information

NFPA Quarterly. “The Los Angeles Park Fire.” Vol. 27, No. 2, October 1933:

“The loss of twenty-seven lives in a brush fir in a Los Angeles park on October 3 shows again that the life hazard from fire is not limited to buildings, and that the most shocking fire tragedies may occur under conditions not popularly regarded as dangerous. According to preliminary reports a group of park workers, without experience in fire-fighting, were directed to extinguish a brush fire and were trapped by the flames with tragic results. Fire fighting is essentially  a dangerous occupation. It is doubly perilous where the men are inexperienced and untrained.”

 

Scott. “Los Angeles Brush Fire Disaster.” Quarterly of the NFPA, 27/3, Jan 1934, p. 194:

“Twenty-eight men, workers on a county unemployment relief project, lost their lives when a brush fire which they were fighting swept upward through a canyon in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, on the afternoon of October 3, 1933. How many others were treated for burns is not definitely known, but 104 cases were treated at the Receiving Hospital and its branches, and fire department members rendered first aid treatment to more than 50 persons.

 

“The fire occurred in a division of the Los Angeles park system known as Griffith Park. A paved highway encircles the golf links in the park and passes the mouths of Dam Canyon and Mineral Wells Canyon at the foot of the hills forming the north slope of the Santa Monica mountains. From the highway the hill rises rapidly at a grade approximating 35 per cent to a ridge or divide, which continues irregularly in a southerly direction.

 

“The fire started from causes not definitely determined, but surmised to be the discarded cigarette or match of a careless smoker, about 50 feet south of the highway and approximately midway between the two canyons. There are no precipitous grades in the area involved in the fire, the slopes ranging from about 20 per cent to a maximum of about 50 per cent. This very fact, however, and the fact that the area all lies on the north side of the range, makes conditions favorable for an unusually thick growth of brush and scrub trees, furnishing an abundance of fuel for a fire once started. A narrow road leads from the mouth of Dam Canyon to the Girls’ Recreation Camp, a project of the City Playground and Recreation Department. This road is not suitable for automobiles or fire apparatus and is not intended for the use of such vehicles. There were no fire-breaks which might be utilized in stopping the fire, although the territory was crossed with narrow trails known as ‘deer trails’ which, while passable and rendering all of the area accessible, were of small value to facilitate the escape of men who were panic-stricken with fear and excitement.

 

“The afternoon of October 3 was very hot, an unofficial report indicating 110⁰ F. at noon, near the scene of the fire. The relative humidity was unusually low, much lower than the average summer humidity for this territory. These factors contributed materially to the loss of life in this fire. The excessive heat made operations of fire-break cutting difficult and laborious. Men became exhausted quickly and required frequent rest periods to permit them to continue activity. It is reasonable, therefore, to believe that had it not been for the unfavorable weather conditions, combined with the heat of the fire itself, many more men would have been able to save themselves from death in the flames.

Story of the Fire.

 

“The first notification of the fire was received by the Los Angeles fire alarm office at 2:26 p.m., when the operator of the Glendale Fire Department telephoned that a report had been  received of a fire in Griffith Park. At about the same time a similar call was received from the foreman of the Griffith Park clubhouse, giving the exact location of the fire. Engine Co. 56, Hose Co. 27, and a battalion chief were immediately dispatched to the fire, the chief and the engine company arriving in something less than ten minutes at the point where the fire started. The hose company entered the park from another direction, arriving at a point on the high road immediately above and to the west of the main fire area.

 

“On the arrival of the battalion chief, a call was transmitted for 40 additional men, which request was received at 2:36 p.m. and was answered by the crew of the Mountain Patrol and 16 men detailed from the drill school. Additional calls were later transmitted for ambulances, rescue companies, tank wagon, light wagon, and men for relief to patrol the area to guard against rekindling after the fire was out. When the battalion chief first reached the fire (2:36 p.m.), it had involved practically all the area between Dam Canyon and Mineral Wells Canyon on the lower slopes and had advanced up the hill to the point where the grade of the ridge flattens out.

 

“The first company to arrive at the fire (Engine Co. 56) went to work with their booster tank and chemical hose at a point near the entrance to Dam Canyon, which could be reached with the limited hose and water facilities available. At the same time a group of men with 1½-inch hose were sent up the canyon to the Girls’ Recreation Camp in order to prevent the spread of the fire in that direction. This was the only point at which any water was available and it is important to note that even this restricted water supply, which was sufficient only to supply one 1½-inch line, was of inestimable value in stopping the fire at this point. The hose company responding to the first alarm reached a point about a half mile west of the fire at 2:40 p.m., and equipped with shovels and canteens the men proceeded out on the ridge dividing the canyons. A crew of approximately 500 laborers was stationed along the trail leading to the fire and with their assistance the officer in charge of the hose company brought the fire under control at this point.

 

“The first evidence of casualties was received about 3:15 p.m., when the assistant chief, returning from an observation tour of the fire area, encountered men coming down through the brush, exhausted, clothing torn, and in need of medical aid. These injured men reported that other men had been trapped by fire on the western slope of Dam Canyon and burned. An investigation proved this to be true.

 

“In the meantime the Mountain Patrol reached the scene at about 3 p.m., at which time the fire was coming over the ridge above the point where the bodies were afterwards recovered. The captain noticed men running out of the brush with their clothes torn off and their bodies badly burned and lacerated. He improvised a first aid crew, treating approximately 20 of these men for burns. The injured men continued to come in and reported that other men had fallen exhausted in the brush on the western slop of the ridge. A crew was hastily organized to go back over trails to see if any such men could be recovered. The rescuers were warned to keep a sharp lookout in event the fire came over the ridge and to keep means of escape in mind if this occurred.

 

“The fire was brought under control at about 4:30 p.m., and the work of recovering the dead bodies occupied the fire department until 1 o’clock the following morning. When the final check-up was made, 26 bodies had been found and more than 150 had been treated for burns and other injuries. Two of the injured victims were so badly burned that they died later in the hospital.

 

“The loss of life in this fire may be attributed to a back-fire which was set by someone, and when the men working along the western slope of Dam Canyon realized their danger, the two fires were approaching each other at great speed. The cyclonic action which accompanies a conflagration was present, and the men, finding themselves trapped, did not know which way to run. Some ran along the slope and downward, the majority of these escaping with severe burns. Others tried to escape the way they had come up the side of the mountain, and the fire caught them. It was testified that in the space of approximately one minute this entire pocket, 25 acres in extent, was in flames.

 

“A survey of the burned area was made by the County Surveyor on October 6 and the extent of the fire, thus determined, was 45.83 acres.

Conclusion

 

The hazards of brush fire fighting are recognized as serious by the Los Angeles Fire Department, and officers and members of the department have been schooled in the proper procedure for combating such fires. In the case of this fire, after the arrival of the fire department, practically every persons who entered the area was warned by department officers to proceed with care and not to expose themselves needlessly in perilous positions from which escape would be difficult.

 

“The very large number of untrained workers who responded to the first call of fire made their proper supervision difficult, if not entirely impossible. Even had every park employee been trained in the practical aspects of fire-fighting, the result might still have been disastrous, for this vast army of laborers (estimated at more than 1000) was too large to keep in hand.

 

Newspapers

 

Oct 4, AP: “Los Angeles, Oct. 4 – (AP) – Thirty-five men are known to have perished in the forest fire which made a crimson inferno of a box-end canyon in the city’s Griffith Park late yesterday, the coroner’s office reported today. Four charred bundles which a deputy coroner said he believed to be bodies of additional victims were taken out this morning. The coroner’s office reported this afternoon that the death list likely would reach 50.

 

“Meantime, Hollywood detectives reported the arrest of a man giving the name of Robert D. Barr, 29, of Culver City on suspicion of arson in connection with the holocaust which Fire Chief Ralph J. Scott said today occurred ‘because inexperienced me were permitted to go in and try to fight a type of blaze they knew nothing about.’

 

“Total of Dead May Not Be Known for Two Days; First Victims Identified

 

“Officers said Barr admitted he started a fire in Griffith Park at 10 o’clock last night, but denied having been responsible for the main fire, which began burning nearly eight hours earlier.

 

“Officials said it may be two days before a final check of the death toll can be made because many of the 3784 RFC workers employed in the park did not report today for a roll call.

 

“One of the bodies was identified today as that of James Cortez Violato by his widow, who is serving on a Superior Court jury. Widows and relatives of other victims began later to aid the authorities to establish a roll of the dead.

 

“More than 125 men rescuers and men who escaped with their lives were burned and injured, some of them seriously.

 

“Throughout the night thousands of relatives of the workers who had been given unemployment relief jobs on park roads crowded about the county morgues and hundreds were admitted today in efforts to make identifications.

 

“Fire Chief Scott said ‘Had there been anyone with  experience in fighting brush fires or any experienced fireman on the scene, the men who dropped their work on the road grade to fight the blaze would have been ordered to safety.’

 

“A cordon of uniformed policemen was required to hold in check the crowds which stormed the doors of the two morgues and watched with tear-dimmed eyes the long string of stretcher-bearers as they carried the charred bodies of victims through the doors.

 

“Frank Merril, superintendent of Griffith Park, blamed the catastrophe to ‘lack of experience in brush fire fighting’ on the part of those who died and the men who sent them into the canyon of death. ‘The disaster would not have occurred,’ said Merril ‘had the road foreman been experienced in such fire fighting work. It meant death to the men, to send them into such a box-like canyon with fire in its center and possibility of a sudden gust of wind carrying the flames in every direction.’

 

“Fire Chief Ralph Scott corroborated Merrill’s views by the statement that ‘it was suicide to send those men into a walled-in canyon whose entrance was blocked by raging flames and whose only other means of exit was a winding cowpath up the wall of the ravine.’

 

“Mayor Frank L. Shaw ordered a thorough investigation of the circumstances which caused so great a toll to be take. He said if carelessness or negligence are found to be the blame the city will cooperate with the county in fixing the responsibility. He promised also that the city will provide relief for the families of the victims.

 

“The workers, laboring with pick and shovel in the park roads, heard an order to fight fire in the rolling hills of the park, largest in the Los Angeles recreational system, shortly after 2 p.m.

 

“1500 Blindly Obey Orders Sending Them Into Box Canyon Trap of Death.

 

“Before 3 p.m., most of the thousands of men had abandoned their posts in response to orders from their foremen, and had followed blindly a treacherous cowpath down the south wall of the canyon, known as Mineral Wells Canyon which was to become a valley of death. ‘Smack it out with your shovels, and cut a fire break’ was order ringing in the ears of the men, unskilled at brush fire fighting, as they entered the canyon.

 

“Deep in the canyon, a small area was burning. There was little or no wind, the flames and smoke from the burning scrub oak growth in the canyon’s floor, shooting straight upward. Suddenly a wind whipped down into the canyon, fanning the blaze into a furnace of death sweeping outward from its center. In a few seconds the approximately 1500 men who had entered the canyon were scrambling up the steep sides of the canyon wall.

 

“The cowpath became a line of fighting, sweltering, cursing, praying humanity. The strong clambered over the weak, in the awful climb. Upward with death  crackling at their heels, struggled the workmen. Survivors said the flames jumped as much as 100 feet a time, catching up with and bringing down the screaming, struggling men.

 

“Searchers found that the men died in couples. Of the 36 bodies so far recovered, only a few were alone in death, the great bulk of the number seeming to have paired off as death licked at their fleeing heels. Some of the pairs, pathetically huddled in their upward struggle on the canyon’s side, gave evidence of heroism in face of death. One couple had almost reached the canyon’s rim when the wall of flame struck them down. One, a stalwart, had been pushing his fellow struggler upward when the blaze cut them down. Always they were side by side, these pairs, when the end came. And always they were stricken when striving to reach the rim which was just a little too high on the canyon’s edge.” (Associated Press. “26 Bodies Recovered, Arson Suspect Jailed as L.A. Probes Fire Horror.” Oakland Tribune, CA. 10-4-1933, pp. 1 and 3.)

 

Oct 5, AP: “Authorities Seek Persons Who Ordered Laborers Into Inferno; Toll Expected To Mount; Box of Bones Brought From Scene.

 

“Los Angeles, Oct. 5. – (AP) – Persons responsible for the disastrous Griffith Park brush fire which cost twenty-seven lives, and for ordering laborers into the fire-trap canyon were sought in a three-fold investigation today. With a promise that criminal prosecution will follow any evidence of negligence, District Attorney…Fitis assigned a deputy to attend the coroner’s inquest. At this hearing, tentatively set for next Wednesday morning, a jury composed of fire experts, engineers and foresters, will hear evidence gathered by city, county and state investigators.

 

“Coroner Frank Nance said today the exact death toll of the fire in the box-like Mineral Wells Canyon may never be known. The latest report placed the missing at sixty-two, but many of these were believed to be in hospitals or had failed to make their safety known to authorities.

 

“A grewsome box full of bones, which may have been from human bodies, was brought from the fire-swept area last night to the morgue. However, Nance declared these will not be regarded as sufficient evidence of additional deaths unless other major portions of skeletons are uncovered.

 

“The police said Robert D. Barrs, 29, an unemployed motion picture projectionist who was arrested for suspicion of arson, did not cause the fatal blaze although they said he admitted starting a fire in the park later in the evening. The investigating officers stated that Barr, who had been drinking, heard a report of the fire in the recreational center and started out to find it. Being unable to locate it the police charged he started a fire of his own.” (Associated Press. “Canyon Fire Deaths Set at 27…” The Modesto Bee, CA. 10-5-1933, p. 1.)

 

Oct 6, AP: “Los Angeles, Oct 6 – (AP) – The Board of Park Commissioners, conducting a hearing into the Griffith Park holocaust of Tuesday afternoon, were told by witnesses that the tricky and dangerous business of starting backfires in an attempt to stop a major blaze was probably the reason why 27 or more men met death. Testimony at the hearing developed that two or more backfires were started in the dry brush by the amateur fire fighters, who were unable to control them after they were started. The park commissioners, after listening to the testimony, ordered the withdrawal of all workers from Griffith Park until adequate fire safeguards can be provided.

 

“A crew boss, Charles Chandler, testified he saw Frank Thompson, a foreman whom he knew and recognized, setting a back-fire which was caught by the wind after he left it. Thompson previously denied he had set any fires, saying that two of his men called to him that they were going to start a counter blaze, but that he had ran on to order his men out of the danger zone.

 

“Of the dead, only 14 had been identified today. The identification was made through rings, teeth and X-ray photographs of bodies. A total of 76 names are still on the missing list. The identified are: John A. Benson, 65; Walter Lee Bernor, 47; James Sweeney; Henry Taylor, 35; John R. Dargo; Louis Kronheimer; Herman O. Burnett; Isaac Grayson; Harold Mahn, 25; Fernando Valenzuelo; Robert R. Miles; Austin Williams; John C. Viorato and Roy Brown.” (Associated Press. “76 Yet Missing, Tales Studied in L.A. Blaze. Back-Fires, Set to Fight Major Conflagration, Now Blamed by Most Workers.” Oakland Tribune, CA. 10-6-1933, p. 28.)

 

Oct 16, UP: “Los Angeles, Oct. 16. – (UP) – A special coroner’s jury of experts today found that ‘gross negligence’ caused the deaths of 28 men in the Griffith Park brush fire of October 3. The jury blamed negligence in supervision of the men and unpreparedness for fire.

 

“The actual cause of the blaze was ascribed by the jury to a carelessly thrown cigarette or match by ‘a persons or persons unknown.’

 

“The jury, composed of fire prevention and suppression experts from various forestry agencies in the city and county made five general charges of negligence, as follows:

 

“1. The absence of an adequate fire protection and fire suppression plan in the park. In detail, lack of proper equipment, fire hydrants, adequate patrols, detection and communication systems, and of trained personnel; lack of properly located and maintained fire-breaks, and general absence of preparation for such an emergency.

 

“2. Lack of appreciation by authorities of the added fire risk created by thousands of welfare workers scattered through the park.

 

“3. Lack of appreciation by authorities of the danger to the entire park and adjacent property in a large portion of the city of Los Angeles.

 

“4. Lack of adequate, trained supervision of the workers to insure their safety in the brush-covered area.

 

“5. A condition of ‘negligence, unpreparedness and utter confusion’ brought about by ‘the division of authority and responsibility between numerous political commissions and bureaus.’” (United Press. “Griffith Park Deaths Laid To Negligence.” Santa Ana Register, CA. 10-16-1933, pp. 1-2.)

 

Named Victims from Newspaper Sources (incomplete)

 

  1. George Alvin Anderson, L.A. (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)
  2. John A. Benson, 65. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  3. Walter Lee Bernor, 47, Inglewood. AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, 1
  4. Roy Brown, 31, L.A (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)
  5. Herman O. Burnett. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  6. James Clark, 42. L. A. (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)
  7. John R. Dargo.          (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  8. Edward Deason, 38, died Oct 17. (UP. “29th Fire Victim Dies.” Bakersfield Californian, 10-17-1933, p.5.)
  9. Isaac Grayson.          (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  10. Louis Kronheimer. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  11. Harold Mahn, 25. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  12. Robert Miles. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  13. Jesus Rivera, 38, L.A. (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)
  14. James Sweeney           (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  15. Henry Taylor, 35. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  16. Fernando Valenzuelo. (AP. “76 Yet Missing,…in L.A. Blaze. Oakland Tribune. 10-6-1933, p.28.)
  17. James Cortez Viorato, L.A. (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)
  18. Austin Williams, 35, L.A. (AP. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune. 10-4-33, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “26 Bodies Recovered, Arson Suspect Jailed as L.A. Probes Fire Horror.” Oakland Tribune, CA. 10-4-1933, p. 1. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-04-1933-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “76 Yet Missing, Tales Studied in L.A. Blaze. Back-Fires, Set to Fight Major Conflagration, Now Blamed by Most Workers.” Oakland Tribune, CA. 10-6-1933, p. 28. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-06-1933-p-28/

 

Associated Press. “Canyon Fire Deaths Set at 27…” The Modesto Bee, CA. 10-5-1933, p. 1. Accessed 12-26-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/modesto-bee-and-news-herald-oct-05-1933-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Kin Identify Blaze Victims.” Oakland Tribune, CA 10-4-a933, p1. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-04-1933-p-1/

 

Associated Press. “Griffith Park Held Serious Fire Menace…” Modesto Bee, CA. 10-12-1933, p4. Accessed 12-26-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/modesto-bee-and-news-herald-oct-12-1933-p-4/

 

Associated Press. “Worst Wildfires in Recent California History.” 10-22-2007. Accessed at:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/22/state/n181734D34.DTL

 

INS (International News Service). “Griffith Fire No Accident Officer Says.” Oxnard Daily Courier, CA. 10-11-1933, p.1. Accessed 12-26-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-daily-courier-oct-11-1933-p-1/

 

Los Angeles Fire Department. “The Fire of `33, Part One.” Glendale News-Press, October 1, 2003. At: http://lafire.com/famous_fires/331003_GriffithParkFire/100333_GriffithPark.htm

 

Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive. “The Griffith Park Fire.” Accessed 12-26-2024 at: http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire.htm

 

National Fire Protection Association.  “Fires Causing Large Loss of Life.” Handbook of Fire Protection (11th Ed.).  Boston, MA: NFPA, 1954, pp. 33-36.

 

National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996. Accessed 2010 at:  http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1

 

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

 

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Probe Ordered To Fix Blame For Holocaust.” 10-4-1933, p. 3. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-04-1933-p-3/

 

Oxnard Daily Courier, CA. “15 Still Missing.” 10-13-1933, p. 1. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-daily-courier-oct-13-1933-p-1/

 

Scott, Chief Ralph J. “Los Angeles Brush Fire Disaster.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 27, No. 3, Jan 1934, pp. 194-197.

 

Sullivan, Meghan Collins. “Griffith Park Fire Stirs Visions of 1933 Destruction.” NPR. 5-9-2007. Accessed 12-26-2024 at:

https://www.npr.org/2007/05/09/10096350/griffith-park-fire-stirs-visions-of-1933-destruction

 

The Quarterly. “The Los Angeles Park Fire.” National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 27, No. 2, October 1933.

 

United Press. “29th Fire Victim Dies.” The Bakersfield Californian, 10-17-1933, p. 5. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-17-1933-p-5/

 

United Press. “Griffith Park Deaths Laid To Negligence.” Santa Ana Register, CA. 10-16-1933, p. 1. Accessed 12-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-register-oct-16-1933-p-1/

 

 

[1] “Of the 36 bodies so far recovered, only a few were alone in death, the great bulk…seeming to have paired off.”

[2] Though title notes “26 bodies recovered” the first line of article states “Thirty-five men are known to have perished in the forest fire.” Goes on to note that “Four charred bundles which a deputy coroner said he believed to be bodies of additional victims were taken out this morning.” Even if accurate, this would bring the death toll to 30, not 35 (26 plus 4).

[3] For fatalities cites “the Los Angeles Fire Department’s historical archive.