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Ninth Wildland Fire Safety Summit™
Pasadena, California USA April 25-28, 2006
On November 1, 1966 as the famed Santa Ana winds were giving way to on on-shore
flow from the Pacific Ocean, the El Cariso Hotshot 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, "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 IAWF's 9th
Wildland Fire Safety Summit in Pasadena, spent the day doing a Staff Ride on
the Loop Fire. Coordinated by Bear Divide Hotshot Superintendent Mike Alarid
with help from LA County Fire and the Angeles National Forest, the Staff Ride
introduced us to the culture of 1960s firefighting, and then walked us through
the area and events of the fire itself. Chuck Hartley, superintendent of the
Dalton Hotshots on the Loop Fire (and winner of the 1st IAWF Wildland Fire
Safety Award) was there to show us the equipment of the period, and explain
to us his recollections of that fateful day. Using original photos and the
newer "sand table" technique, Chuck laid out the fire's location
and spread, as well as the movement of the crews.
After a hike out to Contractor's Point (overlooking the fire area from the top), we bussed to the bottom of the fire and hiked into the actual burnover site. Along the way, facilitators helped lead 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 (that's where all the participants share the lessons they learned from the day's event), we were privileged to have Gordon King, El Cariso Superintendent on the Loop Fire, address the group and share his experiences that day. Although he's now 73 years old, Gordon had a clear and sharp memory of that day nearly 40 years ago, and gave a moving talk about living through such a tragic happening. All of us on the Staff Ride deeply appreciated Gordon's willingness to share his memories, experiences and insights with us.
The Loop Fire Staff Ride was the culmination of the 9th Wildland Fire Safety Summit that was co-hosted in Pasadena by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It was the first time that the Safety Summit had been held in southern California, and had an outstanding program of speakers presenting to attendees from around the world, including South Africa, Portugal, Australia and Canada. Dr. Jennifer Thackaberry Ziegler from Purdue University presented the Keynote address, and was followed for the next 3 days by presentations on all aspects of wildland fire and aviation safety issues. Retired LA County Battalion Chief Scott Jones gave an in-depth view of the GlenAllen fatalities from 1993, and CDF Chief John Hawkins was the wrap-up speaker, giving us the "IC's Perspective of the Cedar Fire" of 2003 in the San Diego. In keeping with the Association's international mission and membership, presenters came from Canada, Australia and Portugal as well as the U.S.
Proceedings
The Conference Proceedings are posted here available for downloading at no
charge (on the right side of this page) alongside the existing proceedings from
some of the earlier conferences.
If you would like a CD containing all of the files that are available for all of the Safety Summits™ since 1997, a CD is available at a cost of $25 (US). Click here to download an order form.
Next Safety Summit
Plans are being made now for the next Safety Summit which will most likely be in 2009. Check back here for more information.
History of the Wildland Fire Safety Summit™
| 2006 | 9th Wildland Fire Safety
Summit™ Pasadena, California, USA |
| 2005 | 8th Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Missoula, Montana, USA |
| 2004 | No conference |
| 2003 | 7th Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| 2002 | 6th Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Luso, Portugal |
| 2001 | 5th Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Missoula, Montana, USA |
| 2000 | 4th Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| 1999 | 3rd Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Sydney, Australia |
| 1998 | 2nd Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Winthrop, Washington, USA |
| 1997 | 1st Wildland Fire Safety Summit™ Rossland, British Columbia, Canada |
