- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Cal Fire report says low retardant drop led to incident that killed firefighter on Mendocino Complex
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Cal Fire report released Friday said the veteran Utah firefighter who died in August on the Mendocino Complex was killed by a tree that fell as the result of a low-altitude retardant drop.
Draper City Fire Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, died on the evening of Aug. 13 from injuries he sustained when he was hit by the falling tree on the Ranch fire portion of the Mendocino Complex, as Lake County News has reported.
The Cal Fire “green sheet” report issued Friday is published in its entirety below.
The report said that on the northwestern flank of the Ranch fire, aerial retardant drops were used to reinforce the dozer line.
Burchett, who was leading a Utah multi-agency task force, and a strike team of type four engines from Kings County were assigned to the Ranch fire’s Branch I, Division C on the Mendocino County side of the fire in the Middle Mountain Range, approximately 500 yards north of Irishman’s Flat at an elevation of 3,000 feet.
During the retardant drops, Burchett was struck by an uprooted 87-foot-tall Douglas Fir tree. He was flown to Ukiah Valley Medical Center where he died a short time later.
Three other firefighters also were injured at the same time when they were hit by parts of another tree. They included two fire captains from a multiagency Utah group, one who suffered major injuries after being struck by a broken tree top and another who sustained moderate injuries – as did a fire apparatus engineer from Kings County – when hit by falling tree debris resulting from the retardant drop.
The air tanker that made the drop that led to the falling trees was a Boeing 747-400 configured as a very large air tanker, or VLAT, with a retardant capacity of 19,200 gallons, the report said.
On the morning of the incident, the Mendocino Complex was 344,890 acres with 68-percent containment, which at that point broke down to 295,970 acres and 59-percent containment on the Ranch fire and 48,920 acres and 93-percent containment on the River fire, which was fully contained at that acreage the day after Burchett died.
Since Burchett’s death the complex has grown another 100,000 acres and continues to burn. On Friday it remained at 98-percent containment at a total of 459,123 acres. The Ranch fire remains the only active portion of the complex at 410,203 acres.
Report describes sequence of events
The report explained that, “due to unprecedented fire activity throughout the state,” on July 29 large resource orders were placed seeking assistance from areas including out of state. The Kings County strike team arrived July 30 and the Utah multi-agency task force arrived on Aug. 2.
The report said that on Monday, Aug. 13, the Utah multi-agency task force, with Burchett as leader, and the Kings County strike team were assigned to Branch I, Division C of the Ranch fire, located just west of the Mendocino-Lake County line.
At 7 a.m. that day, Burchett attended the operational briefing at the Mendocino Incident Base for the Ranch fire in Ukiah. The report said he and one of the fire captains who would later be injured along with him participated in the division breakout with the division supervisor and trainee at the Ranch Fire Incident Base.
“During the breakout, the Division C Line Safety Officer shared with all breakout attendees the hazards associated with airtanker retardant drops while working on the line,” the report said.
At 9 a.m., the report said the Utah multi-agency task force staged at Drop Point 19, located just northwest of Irishmans Flat. While staged, Burchett conducted a tailgate safety briefing and discussed the task force’s line assignment before the task force members moved to
their work location along Division C, a short distance to the north.
The report said the task force’s assignment was to reinforce dozer line and place a hose lay to hold a firing operation. Aircraft firefighting operations began on Division C at approximately 1 p.m. when the inversion layer lifted.
“Aircraft were requested to drop retardant adjacent to the dozer line as a reinforcement to hold the line,” the report said, explaining that coordination efforts were in place between Division C, Air Attack and the Aerial Supervision Module.
At 3:40 p.m., it was announced on the Division C tactical frequency that air tankers would be working the area, with a subsequent message broadcast to “clear the area out.” Only one strike team leader acknowledged hearing the broadcast, the report said.
The report said that at 4:02 p.m, 4:23 p.m. and 4:44 p.m. retardant drops were made in the Division C area by large air tankers. The last of those three drops took place approximately 300 feet to the west of the accident site and “landed further outside the dozer line than desired.”
The request was made for the next drop to be “‘snugged up’ closer to the dozer line,” the report said, adding that the Aerial Supervision Module “acknowledged the request and advised a closer drop would cause retardant to land on the dozer line.”
The Aerial Supervision Module “made a ‘show me’ run for the VLAT over the intended path for the retardant drop with the VLAT observing,” the report stated.
The report’s sequence of events explained that the Aerial Supervision Module “requested a coverage level six retardant drop and a minimum drop altitude at 3,200 feet mean sea level.”
At 5:25 p.m., the Aerial Supervision Module proceeded on a final approach over the drop path, identifying the drop path to the VLAT by use of a smoke trail, the report said.
“The VLAT initiated the retardant drop as identified by the smoke trail. Obscured by heavy vegetation and unknown to the VLAT pilot, a rise in elevation occurred along the flight path. This rise in elevation resulted in the retardant drop only being approximately 100 feet above the treetops at the accident site,” the narrative explained.
The report said the force of the retardant drop uprooted an 87-foot tall Douglas Fir with a 15-inch diameter at breast height, which fell on Burchett, mortally injuring him.
The drop also sheared an 89-foot tall, 18-inch diameter Douglas Fir 29 feet above the base, the debris from which hit one of the fire captains, who suffered broken ribs, deep muscle contusions and ligament damage to extremities. That falling tree also resulted in the second fire captain suffering scratches and abrasions, and the Kings County firefighter sustained deep muscle contusions and ligament damage, according to the report.
“Within seconds after the accident, an Incident Within an Incident (IWI) was declared. Injured personnel were treated by Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers assigned to resources on the division and then transported to the hospital for further treatment,” the report said.
Just before 5:30 p.m. that day, radio traffic Lake County News monitored on the Mendocino Complex included a report of a man hit by a tree on the dozer line with a need for immediate assistance and an IWI declared.
A few minutes later, radio reports from the accident scene said a medivac may be needed out of Drop Point 19, with a followup report shortly afterward stating that said they had an unconscious patient and were doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him. A medivac unit was then directed to respond to Drop Point 15, about six miles southwest of Lake Pillsbury, to transport him.
Minutes later, the major incident radio feed for the Mendocino Complex was cut off and would remain offline.
Officials later reported that Burchett was airlifted to Ukiah Valley Medical Center, where he died of his injuries.
At Burchett’s funeral the following week in Utah, when his fellow firefighters carried his gear in his funeral procession, it was stained bright red with retardant.
The report lists a number of safety issues for review, including, “Aerial drops are inherently hazardous and caution should be used when working in areas with aircraft operations,” adding that supervisors must ensure all fire line personnel are notified and acknowledge
impending aerial drops, that drop paths must be cleared when personnel are working under a tree canopy and that fire personnel need to always maintain situational awareness.
Under “incidental issues/lessons learned,” the report also noted, “Fireline personnel have used their cell phones to video the aerial retardant drops. The focus on recording the retardant drops on video may distract firefighters. This activity may impair their ability to recognize the hazards and take appropriate evasive action possibly reducing or eliminating injuries.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CA-MEU-009504 Firefighter Injuries and Fatality by LakeCoNews on Scribd