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Stand 2 - CCC Crew Parking Area

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Approximately 1400 hours the CCC crew arrived at Rock Creek. They drove to the end of the two-track road leading into the creek. At this point, the Crew Foreman, Wilbur Timmons, divided the 23 person crew into two squads. He would take his squad and approach the fire along the ridge to the north of the fire. He placed Earnest Tippin in charge of the second squad. Tippin's group was directed to approach from the west to the bottom of the fire. Foreman Timmons believed the bottom of the fire would be safer for the less experienced squad boss Tippin. Timmons had briefed Tippin in the truck as they drove into the fire. Timmons gave a direct order to "keep the men in safety". The squads rapidly assembled and departed the truck heading to the fire. Tippin's route took him a short distance up Rock Canyon then south, crossing over a saddle, and following the McConnell Trail. The McConnell Trail followed a dry drainage west toward the fire. Timmons continued up Rock Creek ½ mile then started hiking a ridgeline heading to the north of the fire. Almost 300 yards due east of Stand 2, on the south facing slope above Rock Creek is the Vitale fatality site. This is a good time to point this out, however, Stand 4 will provide the greatest vantage point for discussion regarding Vitale's escape route.

See the orthophoto map with the final fire perimeter and NAD 83 GPS locations for stands shown, above.

The two squads hiked together up Rock Creek to the point were Tippin's crew turned to the south and crossed over the saddle you can see on the right side of the photo.

The two squads hiked together up Rock Creek to the point were Tippin's crew turned to the south and crossed over the saddle you can see on the right side of the photo.

Looking back down the two-track road from the crew parking area toward the Gabica Ranch.

Looking back down the two-track road from the crew parking area toward the Gabica Ranch.

 
Location (SRS)
POINT (-117.7539 41.55665)
Related Stand
Staff Ride to the Rock Creek Fire

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RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

Date:  May 28, 2026
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The Risk Management Committee (RMC) has issued Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters. Research from 2016 to 2025 shows that 88 cases of rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) were reported. Analysis of reports from eSafety, the Safety Management Information System (SMIS), and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC) indicates that rhabdo is common during this time of year due to Work Capacity Tests and contributing factors such as weather, hydration, nutrition, and medication or supplement use.

RMC issued this safety bulletin to raise awareness in the Wildland Fire Community, and to provide research findings and educational resources that support reducing future cases of rhabdo.

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RMC Safety Bulletin 26-001: Rhabdomyolysis in Wildland Firefighters

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NWCG is pleased to announce the new D-110, Expanded Dispatch Recorder (Instructor-led) course is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP). Developed through the National Coordination System Committee, this course introduces the structure and function of expanded dispatch, the qualities of an effective dispatcher, and provides hands-on experience with the Interagency Resource Ordering Capability (IROC) system. 

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The NWCG Leadership Committee promotes and enables leadership development across the wildland fire service. The committee provides education, training opportunities, and support for leadership innovation and best practices throughout the community.

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Incident Operations Subcommittee Updates the Next Generation Position Task Book for FFT1

Date:  May 7, 2026
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The NWCG Incident Operations Subcommittee (IOSC) has updated the NWCG Position Task Book for Firefighter Type 1 (Squad Boss) (FFT1), PMS 311‑14. The FFT1 Position Task Book transitioned to the Next Generation (Next Gen PTB) format in June 2025 through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. Since then, IOSC has received feedback from the wildland fire community regarding coding for one of the tasks. Task #13 has been updated to include the option of evaluation in a simulation.

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