Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire

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Summary: Resubtitle : One of the Versions of the Storm King Fire
Review: Gee -- this isnt the fire I remember fighting!! How eloquent and backbiting a report from someone who wasnt even there and who, while researching this book, appears to have devoted most of his time to the federal offices groups. To spend so much energy on the inability of politicos to get along when a fire is truly fought on the ground... And the truly amazing players, the local fire officers and firefighters who stepped up to the plate after the firestorm (prior to the arrival of the overhead team)and saved homes and each other -well, John you missed it, you missed most uplifting part of the story. So this isn't the "true" story of Storm King; it is one version, by someone who wasnt even there.

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Summary: Great reporting
Review: I agree with Megan P. that John Maclean's book is differently written than Norman's; not profoundly stirring nor as literary. It is still an engaging book, particularly once past the initial set-up of character introduction, politics, etc. The pace rockets along once on the fire scene itself. The difference in the books may also be due to the different time settings of the two books. 1949 was the beginnings of organized fire control and fighting and a much simpler time. With the enormous increase in population and the complexity of agencies available to fight the fires, John had many more facts, bueracracies and personalities to deal with. Perhaps his style of newspaper reportage suits more contemporary times; facts and speed of delivery being most important.

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Summary: Comprehensive review of Storm King tragedy
Review: I found the author's work very well done. Young Men and Fire is more literary in its accounts while Fire on the Mountain grips you from the start by letting you feel, hear, taste, thrist, and hurt. This is an exceptional book that recaptures the lack of leadership that is not on the Storm King Mountain on July 6th; but, of fire managers in the two largest wildland firefighting agencies in the country which results in the ultimate sacrifice of 14 courageous men and women. John Maclean takes you to the very basics in a business that cannot afford leadership compromises. Blame is an ignorant frame of reference for what is unclaimed responsibility in agencies who do not manage by the policies and regulations they are mandated to uphold. Many thanks to those who choose to protect the public lands from wildfire.

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Summary: Great book about Firefighters
Review: I have been Fighting Fires in California since 1981. I thought this book is well worth reading. It gave me a better understanding about what happen to those folks. The lessons learned can prevent future tragadies like this.

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Summary: Some good investigating and but more to tell.
Review: I was a very close friend of Don Mackey. I was however never interviewed for the book.There is more accurate imfo to tell about the story and Don that was never included. The lack of the writer to do a more indept study of the facts in a book of this nature is a real shame.It not only does not tell all the story but includes things that have no bearing or are incorrect. Getting the hole story not just what the immediate family wants you to know should have been his job.

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Summary: A book you'll want to read more than once!
Review: I was privileged to read this book twice as bound galleys and now a third time in finished form. With each reading I find myself again caught up in the events of July 6, 1994 in western Colorado. I am drawn deeper into the lives of wildland fire fighters and the exciting, dangerous job they have. "Fire on the Mountain" accurately portrays these modern day heroes as they become caught within a modern day tragedy that is the South Canyon Fire. Event though I was closely involved in the incident and know many of the details presented in this book, I learned a lot from it and found it hard to put down. When I had to put it down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again.

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Summary: The Standard by which others will be judged
Review: If there is one thing I have learned over the years of reading and writing book reviews, it is that not all newspaper reporters can write and not all writers are good newspaper reporters. However, once in a while someone comes along that can do both, sometimes very well. John Maclean, a former writer, reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune for 30 years, is such a person. He has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes and has written the definitive story of a wildfire near Glenwood Springs, Colo., in July of 1994 that resulted in the death of 14 men and women from Montana and Oregon. It is destined to become a classic, much as his father's books, "A River Runs Through It" and "Young Men and Fire." With the extensive media coverage of the wildfires burning in the West and the attendant cost in both property and lives, including the tragic death of a firefighter assigned to an Oklahoma crew, this book is timely and prophetic. This is the story of a wildfire that got out of control on Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs on July 6, 1994. Fourteen elite firefighters, both "smoke jumpers" and "hotshots," ultimately died in an inferno which was eerily similar to a fire in Montana in 1949 that claimed the lives of 13 firefighters. They all died by "inhaling fire," which leaves little to the imagination. The question is if such a "blowup" occurred in 1949 why did it happen again in 1994 to 14 of America's finest firefighters who had the training, equipment and experience to survive such an event? Maclean has meticulously researched the events leading up to the tragedy, beginning with the weather reports available to the supervisors on the ground and closing with the installation of the granite crosses on Storm King that mark the location of each body. The answer to the question of why the fire, which started with a lone pine tree and clearly visible from Interstate Highway 70, was not extinguished days earlier is enough to make your blood boil. The actions or more appropriately the inaction of government agencies is alarming and shameful. The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are singled out for their role in the tragedy which some say borders on the criminal. Readers not familiar with these agencies will be amazed at their ineptitude, petty bickering and callous disregard for their employees and human life. To learn that two government agency managers that failed to fight the fire in the early stages were later given pay raises and public commendations by their superiors will be a real eye-opener. This for so-called experts who couldn't even get the name of the fire's location correct. Maclean has written not only an excellent account of the tragedy but has provided the reader with an inside look at the culture of modern wildfire fighting. He explains in a riveting manner how recent incidents in Los Alamos, N.M., as well as Storm King Mountain, can and do occur with alarming regularity. That he is able to objectively provide insightful analysis and credible conslusions while at the same time exhibiting sensitivity and compassion for the victims and their comrades is a testament to the skills of this master storyteller. The book is well researched, superbly written and will be the standard by which future accounts of wildfire incidents will be judged. His father would have been proud.

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Summary: Not his father's book...
Review: If you liked "Young Men and Fire" as I did, you may be very disappointed with "Fire on the Mountain". Where Norman Maclean's book was reflective and literary, "Fire on the Mountain" is strictly reportage. It was hard to keep track of the cast of characters who were more names & titles than really developed as people. I certainly knew all of the facts about the South Canyon Fire but it didn't create any emotional connection. Someday I'll make a pilgrimage to Mann Gulch, but this book left me cold.

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Summary: Blowout!
Review: It started with dry lightning storm starting 40 new fires in the Grand Junction District with 5000 lightning strikes on Storm King Mountain before the fire and a total of 9,000 strikes total.

The BLM case is that other fires threatening homes required resource immediately and the South Canyon fire was not number one on the priority list; furthermore, BLM relied on County Helicopter support and availability from Western Slope Fire Coordination Center. The author tells about a tactic used by Blume where Blume would travel to Western Slope Fire Coordination Center identified which helicopters were on the pad, return to office, and place a call for the resource; the resource could not be denyed; games people play. What was needed to prevent such games was a join network of State and Fed with a central command hierarchy that could give stronger coordination during a crisis.

Therefore, it is logically that criticism would surface directing its anger at unclear procedures between state and federal agencies delayed deployment and usage of firefighting resources like failure to by the state too put out the fire because it had not cross its zone. Furthermore, criticism centers on these delays causing the small Storm King fire to expand from 30 acres to 50 acres to a crisis. When the smoke jumpers arrived at the fire scene they were startled at the size of the fire, however their "can do" attitude may have contributed to this underestimation of the problem. Brains are critical to fire survival and not just brawn. Smoke jumper could not be expected to back down from their jobs. Therefore, management must be held accountable for the disaster and their failure to recognized a crisis emerging and don't point the finger at the smoke jumpers. The reviewing commission says, "Twelve of the 18 Watch Out Situations were not recognized, or proper action was not taken" indicating that the firefighting crew was careless.

The smoke jumpers, BLM/Forrest service misjudgment could have been avoided by putting out the fire sooner. Immediate plane drops of retardant and helicopter support could have contributed significantly. Red mud retard was delivered by plane too late. The difficult wind currents made flyovers difficult caused by sudden drops in air pressure threatening to put the plane wing into the mountain.

Lack of immediate support delayed blue hat crews from arriving at the fire sight. Good black areas were too far from the fighting crews and super human efforts by the blue hats was not enough; the second group were able to power out to I-70 into safety.

"On July of 1994 had been a drought year and a time of low humidity. The fuels were extremely dry and susceptible to rapid and explosive spread. None of the groups recognized the dense oak spread as a potential for a blowup. A blow up is the perfect combination of fuel, high winds, and specific terrain topology. Cucou was monitoring the weather conditions on July 6: he predicted a cold front with winds of 45 mph passing through the fire zone around 3:30-4:00 pm. The weather information came in advance but did not trigger and evacuation. "A major blowup did occur on July 6 beginning at 4:00 p.m. Maximum rates of spread of 18 mph and flames as high as 200 to 300 feet made escape by firefighters extremely difficult."

On the west side the fire crossed the original fireline so BLM/Forest service started a second fireline further downhill on the east side of the ridge.

"At 3:20 p.m. a dry cold front moved into the fire area. As winds and fire activity increased, the fire made several rapid runs with 100-flame lengths within the existing burn. At 4:00 p.m. the fire crossed the bottom of the west drainage and spread up the drainage on the west side. It soon spotted back across the drainage to the east side beneath the firefighters and moved onto steep slopes and into dense, highly flammable Gambel oak. Within seconds a wall of flame raced up the hill toward the firefighters on the west flank fireline. Failing to outrun the flames, 12 firefighters perished. Two helitack crew-members on top of the ridge also died when they tried to outrun the fire to the northwest. The remaining 35 firefighters survived by escaping out the east drainage or seeking a safety area and deploying their fire shelters."

The smoke jumper elite were burned, a forbidden taboo; their story shows their incredible determination to survive; they lived their on the edge and lives with each other represented a close family bonds; the Storm King blowup was similar to the Mann Gulch blowup and no correlation translated to warn against a repeat occurrence; McKay was a hero; the escape routes were too long and steep with the worst part of the path achieving a 55 degree incline as the blue hat pace dropped to 1 per hour as the fire increased its velocity to 5 miles per hour; "the Prineville Interagency Hotshot Crew (out-of state-blue hats) was not briefed on local conditions, fuels, or fire weather forecasts before being sent to the South Canyon fire."; carry tools and equipment on the escape route reduced the pace and every second made the difference between reaching the ridge and death.

The book is captivating.


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Summary: We hiked Storm King...
Review: It was the hardest hike I have ever done for a few reasons. The book very accurately depicts the conditions of the mountain and the fire fighters working the fire. It's such a moving story about those that were lost on Storm King and their last day. Have Kleenex handy, but definitely read this book.