Mendocino Complex: Incident Overview

As Week of Remembrance 2024 embarks to honor the events of the 2018 Mendocino Complex, our thoughts are also and always with the Granite 19, who perished together on June 30, 2013. You are never forgotten.

Incident Background: The Mendocino Complex started on July 27, 2018, and eventually became the largest wildfire at the time in California history, burning 459,123 acres. When the complex’s Ranch and River Fires started, the Northern California Geographic Area was at Preparedness Level (PL) 3. One other large fire was burning in the region – the 28,000 acre Carr Fire, which went on to burn 229,000 acres in the neighboring county. The day the Mendocino Complex started, three other geographic areas and the nation were at PL 4, drawing significant resource demand. The next day that increased to National PL 5.

Fire behavior was consistently extreme and large fire growth was observed daily. On August 3rd a Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory was issued for the fire area citing a fine fuel crop at 180% of normal, 1000-hr fuel moistures at record lows, and Energy Release Component values at record highs. On August 4th, the Ranch and River Fires ran 50,000 acres.   

Ultimately, several thousand firefighters from 34 different agencies would support suppression efforts, including the US National Guard, US Army, Australia, and New Zealand Fire. Two Type 1 Incident Management Teams (IMTs) were assigned to the complex due to its enormous size. However, instead of assigning each IMT to half of the fire with geographically determined boundaries, the teams operated out of the same Incident Command Post in Ukiah, CA and essentially merged into one IMT, duplicating IMT positions and areas of responsibility. This unusual organizational structure presented unique operational challenges for management of an already complex, evolving incident. 

It cannot be overemphasized how coinciding events in the regional fire environment contributed to a sense of tension and urgency during the Mendocino Complex. 2018 was recorded as California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire season on record. Within days of the complex igniting, two firefighters were killed on the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite National Park. National political leaders visited fire camps throughout the state. The growing Carr Fire competed for suppression resources and in November the deadly Woolsey and Camp Fires ravaged communities preparing for the holidays.  

Bringing Forward Lessons Learned:  Although the chaotic backdrop leading up to these events may sound extraordinary, incident response in the modern wildfire environment is recreating similar situations with increasing frequency each year. In this broader context, the fire response produced two significant unintended outcomes: multiple firefighter injuries and a firefighter fatality on August 13th, and an entrapment with multiple injuries on August 19th. For the firefighters, dispatchers, pilots, and support personnel who were present, these events and what led up to them will remain unforgettable. Week of Remembrance 2024 aims to tell this story with integrity and respect, so that the Mendocino Complex’s lessons learned may be of value for the broader fire community to learn from. 

Discussion Questions:

• Where were you in late July of 2018 when the Mendocino Complex started? 
• As you remember it, what contributed to the atmosphere of this historic fire year? 

Resources:

• 2018 NICC Annual Report
• Incident Management Situation Report. Friday, July 27th, 2018 
• Mendocino Complex IAP, August 4, 2018
• Green Sheet: Firefighter Injuries and Fatality, Mendocino Complex (Ranch Fire)
• Mendocino Complex Entrapment 2018, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center