Mustang Fire 2012 - A Narrow Escape

The initial blowup on the Mustang Fire.

This fire went from being one difficult to locate due to limited smoke and fire activity, to one that caused firefighters to drop their packs and flee.

Trigger points helped inform their decisions.

On July 30, 2012, Helicopter 404, a spotter and four rappellers were dispatched to Incident #190.

Once over the reported smoke, H-404 did several laps until they were able to locate the smoke, which was only showing itself every couple of minutes. Four firefighters rappelled the smoldering fire.

1213 – Firefighters were on the ground.

1320 – Firefighters were on the fire.

1325 – A single tree torched and dropped numerous spot fires outside the fire perimeter.

Seconds later, an independent crown fire swept through the canopy and cut off egress to their potential helispot.

The firefighters grouped up on a ridge to look for viable egress and discuss trigger points.

Trigger points were agreed upon.

At 1405, the fire spotted downslope of the main fire and began making an uphill run.

Upon seeing the rapid change in fire behavior, the collective decision to drop packs and grab fire shelters, tools, and water was made. The decision to drop IA gear and grab fire shelters was a direct result of a trigger point set on the ridge. It was identified that if the fire spotted below and started advancing upslope, the spread rate would be rapid. The firefighters would need those extra critical seconds if required to deploy shelters.

The fire did exactly that, and they reacted accordingly. Deployment sites were identified before progressing downhill into the Horse Creek drainage that would provide them with the best chance of surviving a worst case scenario.

The four firefighters dropped off the backside of the ridge and identified an open rock scree with little to no vegetation downslope. The helicopter helped guide the firefighters down the steep terrain to the bottom of a drainage where a trail was followed to a helispot for pickup.

The AAR

The entire operation was analyzed in detail. Topics that were discussed included: decision making, fire behavior, and what to do better in a similar situation.

Everyone reflected that the appropriate trigger points were set and actions were executed when those trigger points hit.

Attendees of the AAR mentioned that no matter how benign a fire may seem, to always plan for the worst- case scenario.

Never underestimate even benign looking fires. The potential is always there. If the right conditions align themselves, things can change in an instant.

What would they tell others faced with similar situations?

We cannot stress enough that setting trigger points are a vital tool in situations that are progressing rapidly. After we grouped up on the ridge together, we jointly recognized certain actions would be taken if specific trigger points were hit.

To see the complete 2012 report on this incident:

Mustang Fire Near Miss 2012 | Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (wildfire.gov)