Tangle Blue Fire Hit by Tree Fatality 1924

Lyle Ritz, a 25-year-old World War I veteran, was killed by a falling snag while hiking in to suppress a 100-acre fire near Tangle Blue Creek on the Shasta National Forest in California. Ritz was struck by the snag around midnight as he and five other firefighters hiked along a trail toward the fire. Ritz's injuries included a shattered femur and broken back. His companions placed Ritz on a stretcher and began to carry him back toward the nearest road for evacuation to medical care. A few minutes later, while still enroute, Ritz passed away.

In 1954, the Shasta National Forest was administratively combined with the Trinity National Forest. 

Hit by Tree, Fatality, Hand Crews