Loop Fire Staff Ride Brings Lesson Full Circle
On Nov. 1, 1966, as the famed Santa Ana winds were giving way to an on-shore flow from the Pacific Ocean, the El Cariso Hot Shot Crew moved across a piece of steep and rocky ground in Southern California, intending to cold trail and mop-up a fire named “Loop.” In just a few minutes time, the Loop turned from a docile “nothing” fire into a deadly reminder of the ever-present risks of fighting wildland fires: 11 members of El Cariso were dead or dying on the hillside, and another 11 suffered burn injuries.
Nearly 40 years later, on a foggy day in April 2006, an international group of “students of fire” who had just attended the International Association of Wildland Fire's Ninth Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Pasadena spent the day doing a staff ride on the Loop Fire. Coordinated by Bear Divide Hot Shot Superintendent Mike Alarid with help from Los Angeles County Fire and the Angeles National Forest, the staff ride introduced attendees to the culture of 1960s firefighting and then walked us through the area and events of the fire. Chuck Hartley, superintendent of the Dalton Hot Shots on the Loop Fire (and winner of the first IAWF Wildland Fire Safety Award), was there to show us the equipment of the period and recall that fateful day. Using original photos and the newer sand table technique, Hartley laid out the fire's location and spread and the crew movement.
After a hike out to Contractor's Point, which overlooks the fire area, we bussed to the bottom of the fire and hiked into the actual burnover site. Along the way, facilitators led discussions that helped us learn from the events and allowed us to develop our own approach to a similar event, should the situation ever arise.
After we hiked out to the bottom of the fire area and had the “integration phase” of the staff ride where all the participants share the lessons they learned from the day's event, we were privileged to have Gordon King, who was the El Cariso superintendent on the Loop Fire, address the group and share his experiences from that day. Although he's now 73 years old, King had a clear and sharp memory of that day and gave a moving talk about living through such a tragic happening. All of us on the staff ride deeply appreciated his willingness to share his memories, experiences and insights.
The Loop Fire Staff Ride was the culmination of the safety summit that was co-hosted in Pasadena by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It was the first time that the summit had been held in Southern California, and there was an outstanding program of speakers and attendees from around the world, including South Africa, Portugal, Australia and Canada.
Dr. Jennifer Thackaberry Ziegler from Purdue University presented the keynote address, which was followed for the next three days by presentations on all aspects of wildland fire and aviation safety issues. Retired Los Angeles County Bttn. Chief Scott Jones gave an in-depth view of the Glen Allen fatalities from 1993, and CDF Chief John Hawkins was the wrap-up speaker, giving us the “IC's Perspective of the Cedar Fire.”
