Canyon Fire Shelter Deployment and Entrapment 2016

At approximately 1730 hours on September 17, 2016, the Canyon Fire erupted on Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California. With live fuel moisture levels at their lowest of the year, coupled with drought-stressed vegetation, the fire quickly grew and threatened many rocket launch sites, nearby homes, and other critical infrastructure. By the next day, the fire had grown to 4,528 acres with zero percent containment, prompting the request for a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT). The Central Sierra IMT officially took over management of the Canyon Fire that day at 0600. By 1600 the following day, the fire had blown up in several areas. This prompted several crews to retreat to their safety zone. Two firefighters were sent to the hospital with smoke inhalation. It was later learned that these two firefighters had both dropped their packs and removed their fire shelters, with one of the firefighters actually deploying. 

Engines, Firing, Fire Behavior, Entrapment