San Dimas Canyon Fire Entrapment Burn Injury 1919

E. Pope, a firefighter helping suppress a fire located in San Dimas Canyon on the Angeles National Forest, was entrapped and burned on September 25, 1919. At the time, 160,000 acres on the Angeles NF had burned. Two thousand firefighters were employed suppressing fires across the forest.

Pope is quoted in the Ontario Daily Report newspaper (Sept 26, 1919): "We were all working like mad and suddenly the flames began to surround us. The other men saw the danger in time and were able to get out without being burned. I was working a little to one side. Before I realized what had happened, the wind sent a tongue of flame behind me and I found myself surrounded. There was nothing for me to do but to make a dash for it."

Pope, who received burns on his arms and face, found a gap in the flaming front and his clothing did not ignite. He was treated in the hospital in Pomona, where his burns were described as "painful [but] not serious."

Entrapment, Burn Injury, Hand Crews