Timberlodge Fire Entrapment 1962

On August 2, 1962, a fire ignited near Midpines, California. An initial attack response involved several fire engines and heavy equipment who arrived at a road junction to begin fire suppression. As line construction began, a spot fire on the east side of a road was observed, followed by a wind shift and a significant head-fire run. Other accounts point to a low-flying B-17 airtanker creating air vortices that may have fanned this flareup. A Sierra National Forest engine crew from the Forest's Jerseydale Fire Station, first in line in attacking the fire, was entrapped by the fire. Four of the firefighters perished; two crewmembers survived with burn injuries. 

Those firefighters lost on the Timberlodge Fire: Thomas Foley, Mario "Martin" Giorgi, John Vaun Rasch, and Raymond St. Pierre.

Entrapment, Fatality, Engines, Burn Injury