Twisp River Fire Entrapments and Fatalities 2015

The Twisp River Fire was reported on August 19 at 1223 Pacific Daylight Time. The fire started when tree branches struck a nearby powerline. By 0600 hours on August 20, it was reported to be 7,231 acres and had reached the outskirts of Twisp, Washington. The fire’s final reported acreage on August 26 was 11,922 acres.

On August 19, 2015, USDA Forest Service firefighters Richard Wheeler, Andrew Zajac, and Tom Zbyszewski perished while engaged in initial attack on the Twisp River Fire. A fourth member of the crew was critically injured with severe burns. In addition, a heavy equipment boss and a heavy equipment boss trainee from the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and a contract dozer operator were entrapped but survived with minor injuries. Numerous other fire personnel were also entrapped but survived without injuries.

Initial Attack, Heavy Equipment, Fire Shelter Deployment, Structure Protection, Engines, Fatality, Burn Injury, Vehicle Incident or Accident