1994 — July 6, So. Canyon Wildfire (Lightning), Storm King Mt., Glenwood Springs, CO-14

–14  Bureau of Land Management. South Canyon Fire Investigation…, 8-17-1994, cover page.

–14  Butler. Fire Behavior…South Canyon Fire…Storm King Mountain, Colorado. USDA, 1998

–14  National Interagency Fire Center.  Fire Information – Wildland Fire Statistics.  2007.

 

Narrative Information

 

Butler: “Lightning ignited the South Canyon Fire on the afternoon of July 2, 1994. For the next 48 hours, the fire burned downslope in the leaves, twigs, and cured grasses covering the ground surface. By 1200 on July 4 the fire had burned approximately 3 acres. It continued to spread downslope through the day on July 5, covering approximately 50 acres by the end of the day. General fire activity consisted of low intensity downslope spread with intermittent flareups and short duration upslope runs in the fire’s interior. The fire remained active through the night covering approximately 127 acres by morning on July 6.

 

“On July 6 the fire continued to burn downslope through the surface fuels. At approximately 1520 a dry cold front passed over the area. Winds in the bottom of the drainage immediately west of the ignition point were estimated to be from the south (up-canyon) at 30 to 45 miles per hour. About 1555 several upslope fire runs occurred in the grass and conifers on the west-facing slope near the southwest corner of the fire’s interior. Shortly after the crown fire runs, witnesses observed fire in the bottom of the drainage, directly west of the ridgetop ignition point. Pushed by the up-canyon winds, the fire in the drainage spread rapidly north. As this fire spread north and east, fuel, slope, and wind conditions combined to result in sustained fire spread through the live green Gambel oak canopy. The fire began burning as a high-intensity fast-moving continuous front. We estimate that the fire moved north up the drainage at about 3 feet per second. Steep slopes and strong west winds triggered frequent upslope (eastward) fire runs toward the top of the ridge. These upslope runs spread at 6 to 9 feet per second. A short time later the fire overran and killed 14 firefighters.”

 

(Butler, Bret W., et al. Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado (Research Paper RMRS-RP-9). Ogden, UT: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, Sep 1998, “Executive Summary.”)

 

Butler: “Tragically, 14 firefighters died during the fire run on the afternoon of July 6, 1994, on the South Canyon Fire….

 

Kathi Beck

Tami Bickett

Scott Blecha

Levi Brinkley

Robert Browning

Doug Dunbar

Terri Hagen

Bonnie Holtby

Rob Johnson

Jon Kelso

Don Mackey

Roger Roth

James Thrash

Richard Tyler.”  (Butler, et al. 1998, Dedication page.)

 

Sources

 

Bureau of Land Management. South Canyon Fire Investigation of the 14 fatalities that occurred on July 6, 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. 8-17-1994. Accessed 8-4-2012 at: http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/S_Canyon_AIReport_1994.pdf

 

Butler, Bret W., et al. Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado (Research Paper RMRS-RP-9). Ogden, UT: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, USDA, Sep 1998. Accessed 8-4-2012: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_rp009.pdf

 

National Interagency Fire Center. Fire Information – Wildland Fire Statistics. Boise, ID, NIFC, 2007. Accessed at: http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/historical_stats.htm