A Utah firefighter was killed while battling Northern California's Mendocino Complex fire when the force of a retardant drop from an air tanker knocked a nearly 90-foot Douglas fir on top of him.
A report by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection outlines the incident last month that killed Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, of the Draper City Fire Department, while assigned to the largest fire in California modern history.
Burchett, 42, was killed and three other firefighters _ two fire captains from his Utah crew, and a fire apparatus engineer from another group from Kings County, Calif. _ were injured.
Burchett, a firefighter for 20 years, arrived Aug. 2 with his crew to battle the Mendocino Complex fire.
On the morning of Aug. 13, Burchett attended the operational briefing and a smaller breakout session for the division where he was working. During the breakout, a division safety officer discussed the hazards associated with air tanker retardant drops while working on the line, the report notes.
Burchett and his crew were assigned to work northeast of the town of Ukiah, along the northernmost section of the Middle Mountain Range. The day's job entailed reinforcing bulldozer lines and laying hose for a planned firing operation.
At 1 p.m., an inversion layer _ which traps smoke in an area and makes it unsafe to fly _ lifted. Fire leaders requested that the aircraft drop retardant next to the dozer line.
When fighting a large fire, bulldozers and hand crews create a boundary with hopes that the fire will not cross it because there's no grass or fuel to feed the flames. Placing retardant close makes it even harder for flames to spread past the boundary.
At 3:40 p.m., a division leader announced over a tactical frequency that air tankers would be working in the area. Shortly thereafter, another fire leader broadcast a message: "Clear the area out." But only one strike team leader acknowledged hearing the broadcast.
There were two subsequent drops by air tankers before a division leader asked the next drop be "snugged up" closer to the dozer line.
At 5:25 p.m., the aircraft's pilot was given a drop path. However, because of thick trees and dense brush, the pilot didn't realize there was a rise in elevation along the flight path.
"The rise in elevation resulted in the retardant drop only being approximately 100 feet above the treetops at the accident site," the report notes.
The force of the retardant raining down on the forest uprooted an 87-foot Douglas fir that had a 15-inch diameter at breast height. The tree fell, killing Burchett.
Nearby, the retardant also sheared an 89-foot-tall, 18-inch-diameter Douglas fir, almost 30 feet above its base. The broken tree top fell down, breaking the ribs of a fire captain and causing other injuries. Two other firefighters were hit by falling branches.
The report does not note how soon advanced life support arrived. The injured firefighters were taken to a hospital.
