A lack of communication, coordination and a rivalry between state and federal fire agencies left a firefighting crew running for their lives and suffering burns and other injuries in the Mendocino Complex, the state’s largest-ever fire, an investigatory report concludes.
The report paints a chaotic scene deep in the Mendocino National Forest, where 22 firefighters were trapped when the wind shifted and the fire exploded as they burned off vegetation to help stop its spread. Most were able to get to their vehicles and flee but six were forced to run through an unburned area for a mile before they were picked up.
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Some tripped, fell or were caught up on debris as they ran from approaching flames through thick smoke that turned the daytime skies dark as night. At least one thought they wouldn’t make it out alive.
“Man, this is where we are going to die,” the unidentified firefighter is quoted in the report. “This is how it ends. We are going to be vaporized.”
The report by Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles Fire Department, all of which were involved in the Aug. 19 incident, was released Friday.
Firefighters on the ground, in the air and in command centers were interviewed for the report, and described a chaotic scene with thick smoke, poor radio communication, long drives and general confusion about their strategy and mission, which involved setting fires to consume unburned fuel.
“What are we doing? Why are we burning? What are our escape routes? I have a really bad feeling. This is not good,” the report quotes several firefighters as thinking.
None of the firefighters were killed in the incident but five from the Los Angeles Fire Department and one from Cal Fire were injured. Two of the injured were taken by helicopter to hospitals — one for a shoulder injury, the other for burns. Four more were later taken by ambulance to hospitals for less severe burns. They were treated and released.
The firefighters were trapped as the fire grew to about 384,568 acres in its third week. Firefighters were tired when the entrapment incident happened, the report noted, and with the Carr and Ferguson fires also burning, resources were limited. Because of the shortage of firefighters, Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service joined forces in managing the firefight. But it didn’t always go well, the report concludes.
“The Cal Fire-Fed rivalry was evident on this fire and I believe it was a detriment to the operational tempo and production,” one firefighter said.
Investigators blamed neither Cal Fire nor the U.S. Forest Service, but said conflicts between the agencies hampered the firefight, creating inconsistent communication, adding bureaucracy and duplicating efforts. A lot of dead spots where radio communication was impossible, long drives and inconsistent directions added to the confusion.
The Mendocino Complex, which consisted of the River and Ranch fires, eventually consumed 459,123 acres and 280 structures. A Utah firefighter died when he was hit by a tree knocked over by a heavy load of flame retardant dropped from a plane.
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