Sierra 1996

The accident occurred at 1635 on June 24, 1996 on Division X of the Sierra Fire, Sequoia National Forest while Crew 4 was constructing direct handline. The crew was being supported by water bucket drops from Helicopter 523. During one of the bucket trail drops, local winds, terrain winds and rotorwash combined to briefly flare up the light, flashy grass fuels and push the fire downhill onto and around 8 members of Crew 4. The 8 crew members escaped downhill, but two firefighters sustained burns. All members of the crew had proper Personal Protective Equipment. The sequence of events did not allow for deployment of fire shelters.