Tunnel No. 6 Fire Entrapment 1954

The Tunnel No. 6 Fire was ignited by mine workers with an acetylene torch at the Sierra Buttes Mine above Sierra City, California. Frank Burr, Richard Fierro, and Mel Grodzik were members of the Downieville Forestry Honor Camp Fire Crew assigned to suppress the Tunnel No. 6 Fire. They were caught--and perished--in a steep canyon high in the Sierra Buttes when a wind shift caused the fire to escape its lines and overran them. Their crew totaled 32 firefighters. Two other men with these three who perished were able to escape to the top of the ridge and into the safety of an open area. 

Entrapment, Fatality, Fire Behavior