The Associated Press
The wildfire in the Chewuch River Valley near Winthrop continues to burn Wednesday. The fire, which apparently was sparked Tuesday by an unattended campfire, has consumed more than 2,500 acres.

North Cascades fire heralds tough season

Conditions ripe across West for summer of flame

KIM MURPHY, LOS ANGELES TIMES

Originally published July 12, 2001

"It all contributed to a blow-up situation that was just beyond their expectations."-- Pete Soderquist, fire management officer

WINTHROP -- The 8,700-acre fire in a rugged canyon south of here serves as a deadly warning that the state's unusually hot, dry early summer has left western forests and range lands dry and vulnerable.

Last year's firestorms scorched 7.5 million acres across the country and cost $1.7 billion, and federal authorities say the fire season now under way could be even worse.

"The fire behavior we saw back in May was indicative of what we normally see in July. So we're about two months ahead of conditions," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Rick Acosta said. Currently, wildfires are blazing over more than 12,000 acres in Colorado, Montana, Oregon and Wyoming, with three major fires in north central Washington.

Tents weren't enough

The Winthrop fire exploded unexpectedly into a horrific firestorm, trapping 21 firefighters and two civilians in the middle of a raging blaze that killed four firefighters and injured at least six others, authorities said Wednesday.

Huddling under small shelter tents as the blaze swept through, four firefighters were unable to survive the intense heat of the fast-moving blaze, one of three wildfires roaring through Washington's dry, sun-baked forests.

"The conditions early in the day were somewhat quiet; it was a smoldering ground fire. But as the day progressed, with the temperatures, wind events, it all contributed to a blow-up situation that was just beyond their expectations," said Pete Soderquist, district fire management officer in the Okanogan National Forest. "We post lookouts, we had aerial observers, but the conditions just progressed so quickly that I believe they were caught unaware."

Fire officials said temperatures would have had to exceed 600 degrees to penetrate the small, aluminum-and-fiberglass shelter tents the young firefighters drew over their heads and backs to shield themselves from oncoming flames.

But Soderquist said there would have been no alternative but to wait for the fire to pass. "No matter how bad it is inside the shelter, it's 10 times worse outside. Once you deploy, you stay put," he said.

The fire had grown to 8,700 acres by Wednesday afternoon, and a highly trained, multiagency firefighting team flew in to begin devising a strategy to control it.

"Right now, we're taking the approach of standing by and watching it, hoping we might be able to get some work done on a strategy to fight it," Forest Service information officer Debbie Kelly said. "It's a very remote area. There are no communities, homes or structures threatened at this point."

Fire officials said a campfire was the likely cause of the blaze, first discovered Monday night in the Chewuch River Valley, near Twisp. The fire had consumed about five acres, and firefighters were engaged in what officials described as a "mop-up" operation Tuesday morning when things took an unexpected turn for the worse.

With midday temperatures soaring near 100 degrees, the wind picked up and the air attack supervisor radioed ground workers about "some radical changes in fire behavior, wind, buildup of the fire and smoke column," Soderquist said. Within hours, the fire built up to 2,500 acres.

Firefighters raced downhill toward the river to escape the onrushing flames, but 23 people were trapped, 13 of them so severely they had to deploy shelter tents, authorities said.

A five-member crew appeared to have been in the worst position, trapped on a hillside as the fire raced down toward them. Four members -- Tom L. Craven, 30, Karen L. Fitzpatrick, 18, Devin A. Weaver, 21, and Jessica L. Johnson, 19 -- were later found dead. The fifth member of the team, 21-year-old Jason Emhoff, suffered burns over 30 percent of his body and was airlifted to a burn center in Seattle, where he remained Wednesday in serious condition.

Three other firefighters were taken to hospitals with burns or smoke inhalation. Two campers in the area were treated and released.

Soderquist said that, until an investigation is complete, there is no way to say why some survived and others didn't.

"Every situation is different, every location, every microsite on the ground is somewhat different," he said.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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