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Stand 4 - Campbell and Noel Fatality Site

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

As the helicopter lifted off at 1450, the fire suddenly intensified along the entire length of the line. Helicopter Foreman Black, recognized the change in fire behavior and notified those with radios.

Hatch had also noted the change in fire behavior as he saw it moving into heavier fuels near the ridge top. He radioed to Sheakley, but his message was not understood, so Sheakley came off the ridge where he could talk directly to Hatch. The two felt they could be successful in tying their two lines together to cut off the head of the fire.

Martin's squad also recognized this change and began backing off from their line. However, after observing that they had fire coming from below, Martin instructed his squad to move across the line to the safety of the black.

Purdy and his squad were just arriving at the lower end of Martin's line and were deciding where to begin building line downhill. When Purdy looked toward the fire area, all he could see was a wall of fire. He yelled for his squad to move into the burned area in front of them; this was passed along to the rest of the squad.

Campbell and Noel were last seen about 20 yards behind Annette Rogers, the last member of Purdy's squad. None of the squad members that looked back after the fire's intensity increased saw Campbell or Noel; all they could see was smoke. Campbell and Noel were cut off from Purdy's escape route and turned south and up a low stony ridge, attempting to outrun the fire. The best estimate on their attempted escape is that after they reached about 50 yards up the stony ridge, they turned east toward H-3 and continued running. After turning toward H-3, Campbell moved about 35 yards and Noel about 20 yards. The location of tools, canteens, and radio established their route.

Dumas, the Assistant Helitack Foreman, and another firefighter heard Black's radio alert and moved from H-3 to H-2 where they were able to see what was happening. Martin observed Campbell and Noel running toward the helispot and saw them fall at about the same time. After falling, Noel did not move. Campbell however, struggled to get up and was seen pouring water over himself moments before the fire overtook him. Dumas and another firefighter realized the fire was moving toward them but managed to outrun the east flank of the fire and were picked up by the helicopter along the edge of Spruce Creek.

Photo of Val Norman

Hear Val Norman at Stand 4 describing his experience as a firefighter on the Cart Creek Fire:  audio file (mp3), transcript.

Photo from the original investigation report showing final escape route of Noel and Campbell.

Photo from the original investigation report showing the final escape route of Noel and Campbell.

 
Looking from the area of Stand 4 toward Noel and Campbell’s memorial sites.

Looking from the area of Stand 4 toward Noel and Campbell’s memorial sites.

Another view from Stand 4 (Noel's memorial) looking towards Hodgkinson's memorial.

Another view from Stand 4 (Noel's memorial) looking toward Hodgkinson's memorial.

 
Location (SRS)
POINT (-109.4381167 40.89015)
Related Stand
Staff Ride to the Cart Creek Fire

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ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-003 Flame-Resistant Shirt Survey

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The Equipment Technology Committee issued Equipment Bulletin: 25-002 to address a manufacturing nonconformity affecting Forest Service specification, 6170-4K Chain Saw Chaps. The issue applies to chaps manufactured in 2024 and 2025 and distributed through FedMall. These chaps may have incorrectly bound edges that expose inner protective layers.

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