CHELAN, Wash. — A new incident report on the Chelan Hills Fire details two close calls involving firefighters as wildfire conditions rapidly intensified on July 4.
The report from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center provides a minute-by-minute account of the incidents, along with photos and maps showing how quickly conditions deteriorated and the hazards crews encountered.
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A crew carrier and Type 6 engine were destroyed by fire, while a brush truck and agency pickup were also damaged. The pickup struck a stopped civilian vehicle in zero-visibility conditions. Several firefighters suffered smoke inhalation and burn injuries during the incidents.
One crew had been assigned to prepare homes along Sunflower Lane when firefighters heard radio traffic indicating an engine was entrapped and the fire had crossed McNeil Canyon Road. Heavy radio traffic and transmissions bleeding onto an intra-crew channel hampered attempts to contact crew members. A squad leader heard the warning and ordered the crew to load up and head toward a designated safety zone.
The convoy drove through flames and zero visibility, using roadway rumble strips to navigate. After reaching the safety zone, a crew carrier caught fire and was destroyed despite firefighters’ attempts to extinguish it.
A separate task force encountered similarly dangerous conditions while withdrawing from structure protection operations on Mountain Spring Road. One engine nearly left the roadway before its driver regained control. Moments later, heat from the fire shattered the driver’s-side window, filling the cab with smoke as flames hit the apparatus. The driver suffered smoke inhalation and burns to the face, neck and ear.
Another engine lost sight of the roadway and traveled 250 to 300 feet down a slope before becoming disabled. With fire approaching, the two-person crew abandoned the engine and took refuge behind a building. They prepared their fire shelters before the task force leader reached them and drove them about a quarter-mile to the safety zone. Both firefighters suffered burns and smoke inhalation and were hospitalized for observation before being released.
The report identified several lessons from the incident, including the difficulty of maintaining a common operating picture during rapidly changing conditions. Radio traffic overwhelmed channels, lookout information was not effectively coordinated among units and some resources were still moving into position after the fire crossed McNeil Canyon Road.
Investigators also highlighted the pressure firefighters felt while trying to protect homes. The report cautioned that structure protection can create urgency that leads crews to prioritize the mission over risk. Civilian traffic further complicated evacuation routes, and a water tender temporarily blocked access to the safety zone while fighting a spot fire.
The report also noted that several firefighters recognized unmitigated Fire Orders and Watch Out Situations but did not raise their concerns before conditions changed. The window between recognizing the hazards and having to evacuate was extremely short.
