STORM KING - 1994

On July 6, 1994, the Storm King Mountain wildfire claimed the lives of 14 forest service firefighters - the greatest loss of life in Colorado fire service history.

Lightning touched off the blaze two days earlier. Shifting winds fanned flames that trapped the firefighters.

Here are the details:

Glenwood Springs, Colo. (AP) - A swift wildfire whipped by high winds roared over a steep mountainside, trapping 50 firefighters. Twelve were killed and two were missing today in one of the country's deadliest such disasters.

The firefighters were trapped Wednesday about 7,000 feet up the rugged slope of Storm King Mountain, where the rough terrain left them no place to flee, said Garfield County Undersheriff Levy Burris.

The survivors escaped to burned-over ground where the fire could not take hold, then straggled out when the danger passed, Gov. Roy Romer said at a news conference Wednesday night.

This morning, he said the initial count of 11 dead had risen to 12, and two firefighters were still missing.

"The search will begin just as soon as daylight arrives," Romer said. "It just reminds us all of the great tragedy that can occur when you're dealing with fire," he said.

He said the families of the firefighters had not been notified because the victims had not been positively identified.

Romer called for an investigation to determine why so many lives were lost. Weather forecasters had predicted high winds, but firefighters were left in the field.

Fire officials said some of the victims apparently had tried to climb into their fire-shelters, shiny blankets used as shields during flare-ups.

The lightning-sparked fire began Sunday, five miles west of Glenwood Springs. The mountain resort of 6,000 people is between Aspen and Vail about 180 miles west of Denver.

The fire had been confined to 50 acres until high winds fanned it out of control Wednesday afternoon. Within five hours, it grew to 2,000 acres.

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From U.S. Fire Administration

On July 6, fourteen wildland firefighters lost their lives when a wind shift resulted in a blow-up fire condition that trapped them on the uphill and downwind position from the fire on Storm King Mountain, Colorado.

The fourteen firefighters included smokejumpers Don Mackey, Roger Roth, and James Thrash; Prineville Hot Shots John Kelso, Kathi Beck, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Tami Bickett, Doug Dunbar, and Terri Hagen; and helitack crew members Richard Tyler and Robert Browning.

Browning and Tyler were killed when their escape route was cut off by a large drop and they were overrun by the fire.

The other firefighters were killed as they moved towards the ridge line to escape the fire advancing towards them from below.

According to witness accounts, the firefighters were unable to see how dangerous their position had become because of a small ridge below them.

They had been moving slowly and were still carrying their equipment as the fire blew up behind them to a height of over 100 feet.

At this point the crew dropped their tools and made an uphill dash for the top of the mountain but only one person made it over to survive.

The fire overran the remaining twelve firefighters and reportedly reached a height of 200 to 300 feet as it crossed over the ridge.

It was estimated to be moving at between 10 and 20 miles per hour at the time of the blow-up.

Several other firefighters in various other locations on the mountain became trapped by the flames but were able to make it to safe positions or deploy their emergency shelters.

Post incident investigations have determined that the crews fighting the fire violated many safety procedures and standard firefighting orders.