St Marks Pond 1985

At 1530 hours on March 31, 1985, Ranger Tommy Thomas began plowing on the approximately 400-acre St. Marks Pond Fire. Moving south, he found the head fire had been suppressed  by a barrier of clear cut pine that had recently been control burned. Thomas then decided to attempt to hold the left flank of the fire along a grassy road bed. He then noticed the wind shifting and the fire crossing the road ahead and behind him. The fire moved rapidly north onto him, forcing him to leave the tractor and protect himself in a small pond with his fire shelter.

Fire Shelter Deployment, Initial Attack, Heavy Equipment, Entrapment