Sadler Fire (Nevada) – August 9, 1999

This Day in History is a brief summary of a powerful learning opportunity and is not intended to second guess or be judgmental of decisions and actions. Put yourself in the following situation as if you do not know the outcome. What are the conditions? What are you thinking? What are YOU doing?

Incident Summary:

In August of 1999, The National Park Service (NPS) in California assembled the Golden Gate 3 (GNP3) Type 2 crew which was quickly ordered to the Sadler Complex south of Elko, Nevada. The crew included fire, fuels, and non-fire personnel from NPS units throughout California. Seventeen of the 21 crew members had only the Firefighter Type 2 qualification. Many had little or no prior fire experience.

On GNP3’s third shift, they were assigned to support two Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHCs) in a burnout operation. The burn connected a previously burned area on the west (the “black safety zone”) to a road system on the east, with a dozer line connecting the two holding features, and then continued southeast to the Big Safety Zone.

Overhead from the IHCs decided that it would be unsafe not to burn the northern dozer line until the roads south of the Big Safety Zone had been burned and secured. While the IHCs were working on the roads, the crew boss from GNP3 told the Division Supervisor (DIVS) that they could burn the dozer line if more safety zones were constructed along it. Four new safety zones were constructed, and a plan was developed for the burn. GNP3 would burn from the black safety zone in the west to the “Y” on the road to the east with two engines as holding support.

At around 14:00, due to a wind shift, the planned direction of the burn was reversed. Firing operations began at 15:00 and progressed quickly, pushed by active fire behavior. Multiple spot fires appeared, and one of the engines radioed for ignitions to stop, however, the frequency was being used for multiple operations and was overloaded. The engine received no response.

By 15:30, there was a dramatic uptick in the behavior of the main fire. Fire growth was rapid in the direction of the dozer line. The Branch Director attempted to radio the firing group, but they also received no response.

Soon, fire crossed the line and cut off the holding engine from the firing group. Six GNP3 crew members ran through heavy smoke and heat to reach one of the prepared safety zones. One crewmember deployed their shelter to use as a heat shield. After being evacuated from the fire, all six were taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Two of them were hospitalized for first- and second-degree burns.

Sadler Fire Map — Approximate locations of crew and engine when fire crossed the dozer line. Black squares represent constructed safety zones. (Source: Sadler Fire Entrapment Investigation report)

Discussion Points:

What are your responsibilities if you ask another resource to take an assignment that was previously turned down or if you are asked to take an assignment that was previously turned down? Reference the NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461 pg.18 on “How to Properly Refuse Risk”
GNP3 consisted of personnel from 6 different NPS units and included 5 individuals on their first fire assignment. What level of operation tempo and complexity is generally appropriate for this type of crew? What can crew overhead do to size up their resource capabilities and experience and assign them to appropriate tasks?
Prior to putting fire on the ground, what actions can you take to assess and test communications – and the other components of LCES – to ensure they are adequate? Who is accountable for ensuring LCES is adequate?

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Last Modified / Reviewed: 2026-06-29

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Sadler Fire (Nevada) – August 9, 1999