1, CA– 18

lornajarrettblanchard November 1, 1966

–18 NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1966,” Fire Journal, May 1967, p. 37.

–13 National Park Service. Fire and Aviation Management. “November 1, 1966 Loop Fire.”

–12 Always Remember (wildland fire community website). “1966 11/1 CA Loop.”

–12 Associated Press. “Worst Wildfires in Recent California History.” October 22, 2007.

–12 Nat. Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

–12 National Wildfire Coordinating Group. “Staff Ride to the Loop Fire.”

–12 Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Burns Claim Life of Young Fire Fighter.” 1-1-1967, p. 10A.

–11 Forest Service, USDA, Loop Fire Analysis Group. The Loop Fire Disaster…Nov 1, 1966.

–11 Oakland Tribune, CA (AP). “Fire Scars are Courage Badges.” 12-22-1966, D3.

Narrative Information

NFPA: “California Forest Fires. Eighteen fire fighters were killed in a group of forest and brush fires in California on November 1 and 2. Twelve of the men, known as the El Cariso Hot Shots, who were members of a U.S. Forest Service fire-fighting team, died in Pacoima Canyon in Angeles National Forest when the Santa Ana winds changed direction and trapped them. The fire started when the high winds snapped a power line, causing it to drop and ignite dry brush. The incident was almost identical to the Inaja fire of November 1956 in San Diego County, in which 11 fire fighters died when a shift in the winds trapped them.

“Besides the 12 killed in Pacoima Canyon, fire marines were killed while fighting a fire on a ridge overlooking Piedra de Lumbre (Rock of Fire) Canyon at Camp Pendleton. Again, a shift of winds trapped the men. The eighteenth man to lose his life in the group fires was killed in Oroville, Feather River, when trapped by flames while operating a bulldozer in an attempt to establish a firebreak.” (NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1966,” Fire Journal, May 1967, pp. 35-41.)

Forest Service, USDA on Loop Fire Loss: “On November 1, 1966, in a canyon near the boundary of the Angeles National Forest, California, a flare-up on the Loop Fire overran the Forest Service’s El Cariso ‘Hot Shot’ Crew, burned to death 10 firefighters and inflicted critical to minor injuries on 12 others. One of these critically injured men died at the Los Angeles County General Hospital on November 6. Three members of this crew and a Forest Service Division Boss were in the upper part of the disaster canyon and were not injured.

“This tragedy occurred on the southeast corner of the Loop Fire in the lower end of a ‘chimney’ canyon. The area in which the men were trapped was about 30 feet wide and 200 feet long. The lead man of the El Cariso Crew, Gordon King, was within 300 feet of the end of Los Angeles County Fire Department’s bulldozer fireline at the time the fire flared up and made its run.

“Killed in action in line of duty….

Barnhill, Kenneth — 19 Crewman

Chee, Raymond — 23 Crew Boss

Figlo, John P. — 18 Crewman

Hill, Joel A. — 19 Crewman

Moore, Daniel J. — 21 Crewman

Moreland, James A. — 22 Crewman

Verdugo, John D. — 19 Crewman

Waller, William J. — 21 Crewman

White, Michael R. — 20 Crewman

White, Stephen — 18 Crewman….

Shilcutt, Carl J. — 26 Crewman (Died in hospital November 6, 1966)

[Danner, Frederick — 18 Crewman (Died in hospital December 30, 1966.)]

(Forest Service, Loop Fire Analysis Group. The Loop Fire Disaster, Angeles National Forest, California Region, November 1, 1966. U.S. Department of Agriculture, not dated, p1, Foreword.)

National Park Service on Loop Fire: “Loop Fire, Angeles National Forest, California — Thirteen El Cariso Hotshots were killed and others injured when a cold trail fireline was being constructed downhill at 3:55pm on a SW aspect. The fire relocated from the bottom of a draw to the slope below the crew and the smoldering fire transitioned to an area on fire creating flame lengths reaching 100 feet.” (National Park Service. Fire and Aviation Management. “Large Fires & Fatalities ….November 1, 1966 Loop Fire.”)

National Wildfire Coordinating Group on Loop Fire: On November 1, 1966, the El Cariso Hotshots, a U.S. Forest Service Interregional Wildland Firefighting Crew, was trapped by flames as they worked on a steep hillside in Pacoima Canyon on the Angeles National Forest. The crew was constructing fire-line downhill into a chimney canyon and were within 200 feet of completing their assignment when a sudden shift of winds caused a spot fire directly below where they were working. Within seconds flames raced uphill, engulfing the firefighters in temperatures estimated to reach 2500 degrees F. The fire flashed through the 2,200 foot long chimney canyon in less than one minute, catching the crew while they attempted to reach their safety zones.

“Ten members of the crew perished on the Loop Fire that day. Another two members succumbed from burn injuries in the following days. Most of the nineteen members who survived were critically burned and remained hospitalized for some time.

“Much of the knowledge gained about wildland fire has come through the high cost of firefighter lives. Lessons learned from the Loop Fire resulted in improved firefighting equipment, better fire behavior training, and the implementation of new firefighter safety protocols.” (National Wildfire Coordinating Group. “Staff Ride to the Loop Fire.”)

Wildland Firefighter Foundation on Camp Pendleton Fire:

“Incident Name: Camp Pendleton Brush Fire

“Date: 11/1/1966

“Personnel: 5 lives lost

“Agency/Organization US Marine Corps

“Position: United States Marines, part of a staging battalion awaiting transfer to Vietnam.

“Summary:

“The Fallen: Lance Corporal Roger L. Zarbok, 19, St. Paul, MN

Private First Class Leslie W. Hendrix, 20, Keyes, CA

Private First Class Cecil J. Henshew, 20, Bellevue, WA

Private Lewis W. Connor, 20, Kenova, WV

Private First Class Henry S. Terrazas, 20, Austin, TX

“Four marines were killed and another burned critically when they were trapped on a ridge while battling a brush fire at Camp Pendleton. A shift in winds caused a flashback fire. Survivor Pfc Henry S. Terrazas of Austin TX was airlifted to the base hospital. He suffered burns over 90% of his body and later died.” (Wildland Firefighter Foundation. “1966 11/01 CA Camp Pendleton.” Accessed 2-19-2020.)

Newspapers

Nov 3: “Four Marines died while fighting a brush fire in rugged Southern California hill country Wednesday [Nov 2], bringing the number of men killed in a plague of flame to 14. The Marines, fighting several blazes covering 5,000 acres of the big Camp Pendleton Marine base, were trapped when flames swept over the top of a ridge, base spokesmen said….

“After two days of fighting roaring fires spurred by temperatures in the 90s and 100s and by high winds, fire officials announced control Wednesday afternoon of two of the worst.

“The Pendleton fires were controlled by 300 Marines – including the four victims, whose charred bodies were recovered.

“Another deadly fire, 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest, was controlled after blackening more than 2,100 acres. It was in that fire that 10 members of a crack fire-fighting team, the El Cariso Hot Shots, died when trapped by fire.

“The fires were pushed Tuesday by gusty winds up to 60 miles an hour and aided by temperatures around 100 degrees – the hottest November day in local history.

“Other fires were reported nearly under control to the north of Los Angeles, in Ventura county, and in the nearby Santa Susana Mountains, where two fires consumed 250 acres of brush.

“The Hot Shots, with headquarters in neighboring Riverside County, specialized in fighting the West’s worst fires. They were caught Tuesday when the wind shifted unexpectedly while fighting the Angeles forest fire….” (The Independent, Pasadena CA. “4 Marines Die Fighting Camp Pendleton Blaze.” 11-3-1966, p. 1.)

Nov 4: “Oroville (UPI) – A bull-dozer operator died today fighting a new Butte County brush and timber fire that raged out of control on the North fork of the Feather River. Division of Forestry officers said the man was killed at mid-morning when his bulldozer overturned on a hill.[1] The fire swept over him, but it was not immediately known whether he burned to death or was crushed….The fire about 14 miles north of Oroville had blackened about 600 acres. It was being fought by 500 men. Fire lines had been placed around about 30 per cent of the edge of the blaze.”

(United Press Int. “Butte Fire Kills ‘Dozer Operator.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 11-4-1966, p. 1.)

Dec 22: “Los Angeles (AP) – Some have red scars on their faces, hands swollen to twice normal

size, ears partly burned away. Grafted skin criss-crosses raw but healing flesh. They are the 14 survivors of a 25-man U.S. Forest Service team called El Cariso Hot Shots — specialists in going after the hottest spots of brush fires. They wore army-style green berets as a symbol of their reputation….

“Summer had ended, but on the hottest Nov. 1 in local history the Hot Shots had been called from their base in Cleveland National Forest in adjoining Riverside County. While they were fighting a nearly controlled 2,100-acre fire in Pacoima Canyon near Los Angeles, a freak fire storm flashed over them. Within seconds, the sheet of flame burned 11 of them fatally.

“Ed Cosgrove, a 22-year-old Army veteran, talked about the flames that burned his face, hands, elbows and legs and withered his right ear: “We were strung out in a line, moving down the canyon, cutting a firebreak. All of a sudden I could hear Gordon (King, the crew chief) hollering ‘Get up to the safety zone.’ And here came the fire. “Some of the guys tried to run, but there was no time. As soon as I felt it on my back, I just hit the ground and took real shallow breaths. It’s breathing in the heat that kills you. It burns out the lungs. “I just flattened out and covered my head. I don’t know how I lived.” The men on either side of him died….

“Jerry Smith, 19, has a wide smile despite burns on his hands and face that kept him semi-conscious for two weeks….Just below the crew, he recalled, gases had collected in a small, brush-filled canyon. “It just all exploded,” he said. “It wouldn’t happen again in a thousand years.”

“Professional firefighters said it was the worst disaster among their trade that they could recall.

“In hospitals, doctors began skin-grafting operations immediately One man died five days after the fire, and three are still in critical condition….” (Oakland Tribune, CA (AP). “Fire Scars are Courage Badges.” 12-22-1966, D3.)

Jan 1, 1967: “A 12th member of an elite fire-fighting crew is dead today from burns suffered when he and a score of companions were trapped in the heart of a fire storm near Sylmar Nov. 1. Burns claimed the life of 18-year-old Frederick Banner of San Diego on Friday [Dec 30]….Eight other members of the elite crew assigned to battle the blaze that eventually destroyed 2028 acres of valuable watershed in the Angeles National Forest are still hospitalized. Two are in California Lutheran Hospital and two in General Hospital in Los Angeles, and four are undergoing treatment in the Naval Hospital in San Diego.

“The fire which they helped battle to a standstill at one time burned so fiercely and so dangerously close to inhabited areas in the Northeast Valley that two hospitals had to be evacuated.” (Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Burns Claim Life of Young Fire Fighter.” 1-1-1967, 10A.)

Sources

Always Remember (wildland fire community website). “1966 11/1 CA Loop.” Accessed 12-30-2014. Accessed 12-30-2014: http://www.wlfalwaysremember.org/incident-lists/174-loop-fire.html

Associated Press, Oroville. “Man Dies In Accident Fighting Fire.” The Humboldt Times, Eureka, CA, 11-5-1966, p. 1. Accessed 2-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/eureka-humboldt-times-nov-05-1966-p-25/

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1966,” Fire Journal, May 1967, pp. 35-41.

National Park Service. Fire and Aviation Management. “Large Fires & Fatalities….November 1, 1966 Loop Fire.” NPS, United States Department of the Interior. Accessed 12-29-2014 at: http://www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/learning-center/fireside-chats/history-timeline.cfm

National Wildfire Coordinating Group. “Staff Ride to the Loop Fire.” Accessed 12-29-2014 at: http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/staffride/library_staff_ride1.html

Oakland Tribune, CA (AP). “Fire Scars are Courage Badges.” 12-22-1966, D3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=31643494&sterm=fire+angeles+el+cariso

The Independent, Pasadena CA. “4 Marines Die Fighting Camp Pendleton Blaze.” 11-3-1966, p. 1. Accessed 2-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com.

U.S. Forest Service, Loop Fire Analysis Group. The Loop Fire Disaster, Angeles National Forest, California Region, November 1, 1966. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Not dated. Accessed 12-29-2014 at: http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/staffride/downloads/lsr1/lsr1_investigative_report.pdf

United Press International. “Butte Fire Kills ‘Dozer Operator.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 11-4-1966, p. 1. Accessed 2-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-nov-04-1966-p-1/

Valley News, Van Nuys, CA. “Burns Claim Life of Young Fire Fighter.” 1-1-1967, p. 10A. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=10803598&sterm=fire+angeles+el+cariso

Wildland Firefighter Foundation. “1966 11/01 CA Camp Pendleton.” Accessed 2-19-2020 at: https://www.wlfalwaysremember.org/incident-lists/323-camp-pendleton.html

[1] The next day the victim was identified as Ernest A. Leitner, 49, of Red Bluff. The AP cited the Butte County coroner to the effect that “He was crushed when his machine struck a rock and toppled 300 feet down a slope.” (Assoc. Press, Oroville. “Man Dies In Accident Fighting Fire.” The Humboldt Times, Eureka, CA, 11-5-1966, p. 1.)