New York Peak Fire Entrapment 2006

The New York Peak Fire was started by a lightning strike on July 24, 2006, on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management, northwest of Winnemucca, Nevada. The next day, members of the Eldorado Interagency Hotshot Crew and a D-8 Caterpillar dozer were involved in a burnover incident during fire suppression operations. Six crew members received injuries after being hit by a fire whirl. Due to the fire whirl's suddenness, the firefighters had no time to deploy fire shelters. Their designated escape route had been cut off as the wind shifted and blew flames across the dozer line. Several crew members escaped through the green to avoid further injury. Two crew members were seriously burned and walked out through the hot black. The dozer operator drove out through the fire to the safety of the road. The dozer operator was not injured due to the protection provided by his environmental cab. The dozer was not damaged.

Heavy Equipment, Medevac, Extended Attack, Fire Behavior, Burn Injury, Firing, Hand Crews, Entrapment