Granite Mountain Fire Entrapment Fatalities 1942

Three youth firefighters, R.B. Fryer, Gorge Nolte, and Harvey Fultz, members of the California Guard, were entrapped and perished on the Granite Mountain Fire east of Julian on July 19, 1942. This fire, burning in grass and brush, started three days earlier on the east slope of Granite Mountain.

On July 19, at approximately 0630 hours, a group of ten firefighters, who had been working to suppress this fire since shortly after it started, were resting in San Felipe Valley in an area judged to be a safe. The fire then made a sudden run and a fire whirl was generated. This fire whirl crossed the nearby fireline and moved 600 feet into the green, igniting multiple fires.

The group of resting firefighters escaped from the advancing spot fire to a nearby road. However, one boy, R. B. Fryer, fell and was overtaken by the flames. Another firefighter, George Nolte, was seriously burned during his escape. Evidence indicates that Nolte died of his injuries, as well as another firefighter with them, Harvey Fultz, whose injuries were described only as "an injury to the leg treated by a private physician."

All three deceased firefighters appear to have been 15 to 16 years old. Comprehensive details about this multiple fatality entrapment are not readily available.