1953 — July 9, arson Rattlesnake Wildfire (firefighters killed), Mendocino Nat. Forest, CA–15

— 15 Associated Press. “Worst Wildfires in Recent California History.” October 22, 2007.
— 15 Jones and Lubow. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of California… 2006, p. 99.
— 15 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
— 15 National Park Service. Timeline: Large Fires and Fatalities.
— 15 Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Staff Ride to the Rattlesnake Fire.

Narrative Information

Jones and Lebow: “….A testy spot fire began about 8:15 P.M. about 300 feet from Powder House Ridge along the slope down to Powder House Creek [spot fires are fires that start away from a previous fire—in this case a fire on Rattlesnake Ridge earlier in the day]. Twenty-four men worked for two house to contain the fire. They had finished a line around the spot and took a lunch break in an area out of sight of the main fire. Two of the crew leaders went up to the site of the spot fire to view the main fire, and when they returned to the eating area, discussions were held on alternatives now that they had finished their assignment.

“Without a lookout and without assessing their own position for safety, the men found themselves in a bind when, suddenly, at about 10:15 P.M., the winds changed direction, and the spot fire exploded up the slope. It moved uphill northeast, then downhill southeast rapidly….

“Lafferty [Forest Service Assistant C. C. Lafferty], seeing that the path of the fire was toward the men, ran down to alert the two-dozen work4ers. He yelled to them, but the men below may not have heard or understood him. Nine men headed uphill toward the firefighter, and they were saved. Fifteen others made their way eastward down the slope of the hill into the canyon, trying to outrun the fire. But the brush was thicker and more difficult to traverse, and within fifteen minutes the rapidly moving flames had caught up with the escaping men….

“Fourteen of the fifteen dead firefighters were New Tribes missionaries….The New Tribes Mission [evangelical Christian missionary school] was about 25 miles south of the fire in the Mendocino National Forest….as is usual in this area, when the fires broke out, the mission was called. It sent a group of volunteers….”

Jones and Lebow go on to note that Stanford Philip Pattan, who was out of work, and had been trained as a firefighter, was arrested for setting this and other fires that day which had been contained. His motive was to try to get work fighting the fires he had set. “Although the charges against Pattan were originally second-degree murder, they were reduced by the grand jury, which could not fire premeditation – a necessary ingredient in the legal definition of murder – to two counts of willful burning. He pled guilty and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of one to ten years. He served three years, and then he was paroled back to his hometown of Willows.” (Jones, Ray and Joe Lubow. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of California: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. 2006, pp. 97-102.)

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program: “A New Tribes Mission firefighting crew under the direction of U.S. Forest Service overhead was trapped by flames as they worked on a brush covered hillside in Powderhouse Canyon on the Mendocino National Forest. One USFS Ranger and 14 missionary firefighters died in the fire.

“The crew was working on a spot fire in a narrow canyon covered with 40 year-old Chaparral brush. They had just completed construction of a hand line around their spot fire when a sudden wind shift caused another spot fire to flare-up. This other spot fire was located up-canyon from the crew. However, the unusually strong down-canyon wind pushed the uncontrolled spot fire toward the crew’s location. Within 30 minutes the fire had run more than a mile down canyon, catching the crew while they attempted to fight their way through the heavy brush to safety. Fifteen firefighters perished on the Rattlesnake Fire that day. Nine fellow crewmembers barely escaped.” (Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Staff Ride to the Rattlesnake Fire.)

Sources

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

Jones, Ray and Joe Lubow. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of California: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Guilford CT: Insiders’ Guide, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press, 2006, pp. 97-102.

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 Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Timeline: Large Fires and Fatalities. Accessed 4-26-2009 at: http://www.nps.gov/fire/utility/uti_tl_largefirestext.cfm

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Staff Ride to the Rattlesnake Fire. Accessed 4-26-2009 at: http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/staffride/library_staff_ride2.html