Tuolumne County Heavy Equipment Operator Entrapment Fatality 1964

A grass fire in Tuolumne County near Groveland, California entrapped heavy equipment operator James Carlisle with the California Department of Forestry (now CAL FIRE). Carlisle, based in Groveland, responded to the fire and was constructing line with other dozers when the fire ran toward his location. Carlisle abandoned his machine to escape on foot. He had run approximately 200 yards when he was overtaken by the running grassfire. Another dozer operator came to Carlisle's aid, constructing a line around his location, while other firefighters provided first aid. The helicopter at Bald Mountain Helibase on the Stanislaus National Forest flew to the fire with a doctor to treat the severely-burned Carlisle en route to the hospital in Sonora. After 10 days in the hospital with burns over most of his body, Carlisle succumbed to his injuries on July 2, 1964. The fire burned almost 2,000 acres, driven by erratic high winds, before it was controlled in 8 hours. 

Entrapment, Heavy Equipment, Burn Injury, Fatality