Rivera Mesa Fire Entrapment 2006

On June 18, 2006, at approximately 1445-­1500 hours on the Rivera Mesa Fire, the Santa Fe Interagency Hotshot Crew Assistant Superintendent was scouting the fire when the fire behavior suddenly intensified. He started moving west, away from the fire.  Almost immediately, the wind shifted. Looking behind him, the Assistant Superintendent saw a 100-foot wall of flames heading toward him. He started moving west at a run. He felt that he was not getting away from the fire and that he might not survive. He saw no deployment zone and realized the fire intensity was not survivable. His only option was to run faster. He removed his pack, kept his shelter, radio, tool and water. During the next five minutes he looked for but could not find anywhere to deploy his shelter. As he continued to run, the smoke column rolled over him, cutting visibility to less than 1,5­00 feet. He inhaled a lot of smoke, but kept running until he got around the flaming front. At approximately 1530, he was directionally disoriented and attempted to establish contact with the crew. After about 45 minutes, he was able to rejoin the crew. 

Transition, Hand Crews, Entrapment