One Dead As Water Truck Crashes Near Bradbe - News Story - WLKY Louisville

One Dead As Water Truck Crashes Near Bradbe - News Story - WLKY Louisville:

"LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro Police were called to the scene of a fatal accident Tuesday around 11:30 a.m. near Routt Road, around Bradbe.

Officials said a 70-year-old died when the truck fell off the road. His name had not been released as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Dispatchers said it was a single-vehicle accident involving a water truck. It is not yet known what company owned the water truck."

Nashville, Tennessee - Driver killed when water truck overturns

NewsChannel 5.com Nashville, Tennessee - Driver killed when water truck overturns:

Associated Press - June 27, 2007 6:04 AM ET

FISHERVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A 70-year-old Shelby County man is dead after the water truck he was driving overturned as he was delivering water to a farm in the Fisherville area, east of Louisville. But it was not the initial accident that caused the fatality.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Jack Arnold says James Glascoe was turning from the farm's driveway on Bradbe Road onto Routt Road late yesterday morning when the rear axle slipped off the side of the road into a ditch. Arnold says Glascoe got out of the truck, apparently to assess the damage, and the vehicle then fell over and crushed him."

Police blotter - water truck stolen

Police blotter: 9:43 a.m. A person on Sloan Court just west of Holly Drive reported that someone stole a 1985 Peterbilt water truck from a construction site."

2 firefighters trapped inside overturned Water Tender

California Fire News-Water tender Flipped On Way to Fight Fire

Water tender Flipped On Way to Fight Fire

2 firefighters trapped inside

By Jessica Peres

06/24/2007 - The accident happened at about 7 pm Saturday, at the intersection of Avenue 21 and Road 26, just north of the City of Madera.

It certainly was a scary situation for two volunteer firefighters and two civilians who got caught in a nasty wreck.

The Madera County Firefighters were on their way to fighting a vegetation fire along the Chowchilla River when their water tender got broadsided by another car.

This was the tangled scene after a Honda crashed into a 4 thousand gallon water tender. As the water tender lay helpless on its side, two volunteer firefighters were trapped inside.

CHP Officer Peter Grotto was one of the first to arrive on the scene. He says the two volunteer firefighters were calm as the jaws of life came to free them.

"We had two volunteer firefighters that were very calm and they had their wits about them they were talking to us and to each other and they were just patiently waiting to be rescued from the vehicle" says Officer Grotto.

Cal fire officials said it was hard to see one of their own in such a critical situation. Tracy Cheek, Cal fire, says "afterwards we think about the families of the PCF's and the people that were involved, but that's what we do that's our job."

The two firefighters had their lights and sirens on as they traveled down road 26 to the Chowchilla River fire. CHP officers say they cleared the intersection and kept going but they were hit by a Honda when the driver didn't stop at the stop sign.

When emergency crews arrived, the water tender was on its side. They say it took 15 minutes to get the firefighters out.

"The H40 helicopter transported the two passengers from the Honda to Regional Medical Center and the two volunteers went via ambulance to the medical center" says Officer Grotto.

Crews helped drain the water tank to make it easier to tow away.

Officials say the accident shows how dangerous firefighters' jobs are, even when responding to an incident.

The fire along the Chowchilla River was fully contained.

The driver of the water tender truck was released from the hospital Saturday evening. The other firefighter spent the night at the hospital, no word on his condition.

CHP is continuing to investigate the accident.

Blaze Destroys Rural Buildings

Blaze Destroys Rural Buildings

BY JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writer

Heavy flames sent up a column of black smoke visible from miles away on Wednesday afternoon and destroyed three wooden buildings in a remote rural area east of La Center.

An unidentified volunteer firefighter with Fire District 12 suffered minor burns. No one else was believed injured, officials said.

The blaze at 6103 N.E. 330th St., first reported at 1:15 p.m., spread to trees and brush around the home. Firefighters were able to limit the brush fire to about a quarter-acre, said Battalion Chief Gordon Brooks of Fire District 10.

Halting the spread were about 40 firefighters from districts 10, 11 and 12 and inmates from Larch Corrections Center, working with officials with the state Department of Natural Resources.

Had it occurred during the drier months of August and September, the brush fire might have grown much larger and spread to nearby homes, said Max Konkright, acting battalion chief with District 12.

Konkright was first to arrive, about 15 minutes after someone called 911 to report seeing the smoke column.

At first, it wasn’t clear exactly where the smoke was coming from, or even which fire district it was in, officials said. It turned out to be in the Lockwood Creek area just inside District 10’s boundary.

“I went up the driveway and saw a wall of flames,” Konkright said. “The grade was way too steep to bring any regular fire engines in.”

There was no hydrant in the area; firefighters had to leave their large engines about half a mile away, Brooks said.

The strategy they used involved attaching a hose to a water tender — a truck with a tank holding about 2,500 gallons of water — and dragging the hose up a gravel road and steep gravel driveway toward the blaze.

Several small brush rigs, which are one-ton trucks holding only about 300 or 400 gallons of water, filled up from the hose. Firefighters then drove the brush rigs back and forth, pouring water on the fire and returning to the tender for refills.

Under the circumstances, there was no hope of saving the three wood-frame buildings.

They included a shed, a building variously described as a house or barn, and a building that may have been used to house birds, said Deputy Fire Marshal Richard Martin. The fire’s cause and dollar damage estimate hadn’t been determined.

The 4-acre property belongs to David Lee Booth, according to county records.

With summer approaching, fire officials warn rural residents to clear brush, firewood, tall grass and other flammable material away from their homes.

Early Morning Fire Destroys Rawhide Rd. Residenc

MyMotherLode.com - Local News:

Early Morning Fire Destroys Rawhide Rd. Residence

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 - 05:00 AM
Bill Johnson
MML News Director

Sonora, CA -- Fire completely destroyed a single family residence at 19639 Rawhide Rd. during the two o'clock hour this morning.

The residents, a father, mother and a two year old son, escaped with no injuries.

Tuolumne County Fire Marshall Kary Hubbard reports the older home, which has been in the family for a number of years, had two bedrooms and one bath. Damage to the structure has been estimated at $200,000 with $50,000 damage to the contents.

Six engines and three water tenders from CAL FIRE and the Tuolumne County Fire Department responded to the blaze along with a chief from the Columbia Fire District.

Cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Assistance was also provided by P.G.& E. and the Sacramento-Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross."

One killed in Gilbert collision today | EastValleyTribune.com

One killed in Gilbert collision today

One killed in Gilbert collision today

Gary Grado, Tribune
One man died and two others were seriously injured Monday when a car they were in ran a red light at Greenfield and Elliot roads.

Sgt. Scott Girardin of the Gilbert Police Department, said the car with the three men, a green Chevrolet Malibu, was heading north on Greenfield when it was struck by a westbound water-tank truck and knocked into a Ford Focus.

The drivers of the water truck and Focus suffered minor injuries in the 5:26 a.m. crash, Girardin said."

1 killed after car reporteldy runs red light and was hit by a water truck

1 killed after car reporteldy runs red light Phoenix, Arizona:

1 killed after car reporteldy runs red light

07:41 AM Mountain Standard Time on Monday, June 18, 2007

azfamily.com Staff

One person was killed in an early morning wreck in the area of Greenfield and Elliot roads.

Kim Martinez reports

A green car reportedly ran a red light and was hit by a water truck.

Rescuers had to cut three victims from the green car. Two of those people were unconscious at the time, said Capt. Rob Dugan of the Gilbert Fire Department.

A person who was sitting in back passenger seat, which bore the brunt of the impact, was killed.

The other two victims, one of them with life-threatening injuries, were flown to Maricopa County Medical Center.

The driver of the water truck and the driver of a third vehicle were taken by ground ambulance to area hospitals. Neither suffered life-threatening injuries.

The intersection was closed while police conducted their investigations. It was expected to reopen some time after 9 a.m.

News - Fire season declared in Humboldt

The Eureka Reporter - Article:

Fire season declared in Humboldt

The Humboldt-Del Norte Unit of Cal Fire will be on fire season status as of Monday. Cal Fire will complete hiring and training seasonal firefighters, and will begin staffing all facilities 24 hours per day.

“Fire season” means that Cal Fire increases preparedness levels, but it can mean restrictions for citizens as well.

Dooryard burn permits have been required since May 1, but a seasonal burn permit suspension should be expected as ground fuels become increasingly susceptible to fire. Cal Fire encourages community residents to clean up and dispose of their non-fire-safe vegetation early in the season.

Cal Fire firefighters want to remind loggers that all fire tool and clearance requirements are in effect. In addition, homeowners need to create a defensible space around their property so that it can be protected from wildfire.

For guidance on making a home defensible, consult the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov."

A baptism by fire.

Found this nice Water Truck story from across the big pond: A baptism by fire. - PerthNorg - Your News, Your Views:

It was the third day of the new year and an entirely new life for a city slicker like me. I soon found out that farming life in the wheat-belt was as far-out as life on the moon. The Christmas period was traditionally my holiday time. This year was quite different, as I was eager to lend a hand in return for Peter and Michelle Brown’s hospitality. At harvest time Peter worked up to eighteen hours a day. He had recently invested in a state-of-the-art harvester, recognising a business opportunity in contract harvesting. He rendered a service to his neighbours that paid for his investment. He asked me to give him a hand moving some gear.

“Gear?” I thought. “Right!” I said

We were driving to where he had left the harvester the night before. The multi-thousand dollar mechanical monster was parked in a paddock on a neighbouring farm. My light duty was to accompany him to the harvester, drop him off and then drive the ‘ute’ back home. I reminded him that I was more than willing to help with the real work. He explained that he had run the farm on his own for so long that he found it difficult to delegate. He waved away an annoying fly and my offer to help in the same motion. A hot uncomfortable wind drafted across the wheat-scape. The harvested paddocks looked crisp and dry, like tinder.

“That’s a bloody fire!” Peter yelled suddenly. He pointed ahead. I looked towards the end of the red dusty road and saw only salmon coloured gum trees. “Struth! That could be the Roberts’ farm.” He said and floored the accelerator. Orange puffs of dust ballooned up beside us as we ripped the gravel. A gang of pink and grey galahs shrieked and scattered skyward. Only then did I see the smoke.

I hadn’t buckled my seat belt until then, but as the vehicle hurtled along the unstable surface I pulled down the oily, dusty strap and punched it home. Rapid exchanges of snaps and crackles sparked on the two-way radio. Key information was traded but it was too curt for me to grasp. I hadn’t yet tuned in to the country accent, but one thing was certain - there was panic in the air. Dark grey billows of smoke violated the bright blue sky.

At first I was relieved to see the harvester. It was in a field of freshly cut stubble. Had we arrived in time? It was silhouetted against a backdrop of the looming fire and smoke. Peter spun the vehicle round, stumbled out and ran off towards the harvester, then left towards the fire and disappeared into the smoke and haze. Why, I wondered.

The fire was real to me then. I could feel the heat of it rise well above that of the thermo-fan day. I could smell it and taste it. Little bits of charred white ash dropped round me like snowflakes. What was I to do? I could have done as he asked and driven the ute back home, but why leave then when I might be needed.

The thought occurred to me to try to move the harvester. I ran towards the beast and in one movement scaled the alloy steps into its lofty cockpit. I knew I was in trouble then. The hi-tech dashboard was no user-friendly workstation. There was no way of knowing where to begin. The clutter of control dials showed up dead as dull granite. There was no clue, no start button and no ignition key.

The elevated view helped me realise that the fire wasn’t actually moving towards the harvester. A diagonal wind was drafting it away to the right. There was nothing I could do about the harvester. Where was Peter? What should I do for the best? I ran back and leapt onto the back of the ute, hoping to get a better view from there. I saw nothing but smoke.

“Do you know what to do, mate?” I spun round to see a man I thought I’d met the day before. The locals had nicknamed him ‘Jorgy.' He must have sensed my helplessness. He invited me aboard his old Bedford water truck and drove us calmly into the heart of the action. Cool as canned beer he showed me how to aim the hose at the base of the flames. They reluctantly succumbed to the piercing jet of water. I looked to left and right and slowly identified several other figures in the haze with wet sacks and fire fighting paraphernalia. We appeared to be in a grove of mallee trees on the edge of a firebreak road. The men were surprisingly calm and seemed almost amused at my fervent attempts at fire fighting.

I should have known that neighbours play a vital support role in farming life. They had rallied round with water trucks to help contain the blaze - well before Jorgy and I arrived. “Goodonya, Mates!” they greeted us dryly. I learned from the good-natured banter that followed that July Roberts had inadvertently driven a tractor across a paddock and that had sparked the dry wheat stubble.

Although the blaze had been contained, there was still a danger of the fire spreading by the underground root system. The volunteers decided to abandon their farming duties for the day to stand vigil. “You never know how them bush fires might spread”, said Jorgy with a wink.

Peter then proposed that my next duty should be to hurry into Dumbleyung, the nearby town. There I was to buy a block of beer. On the way back, I was to pick up the sandwiches that Michelle had prepared.

“No worries.” I thought. The blokes were settling in for an afternoon off.

Water truck driver extricated from Foothills crash

KXLY.com:

KXLY4 Staff

Emergency crews work to free the driver of a truck after his brakes failed and he crashed into a field off Foothills Drive.

SPOKANE -- The driver of a water truck was pinned inside the cab for more than an hour after he crashed off Foothills Drive late Friday morning.

The truck reportedly was traveling down Foothills at approximately 50 miles-an-hour when the driver lost his brakes and drove off the road straight into a field.

The driver's leg was pinned inside the cab and he had to be extricated by emergency crews.

The truck was carrying 2,400 gallons of magnesium chloride used for de-icing in the winter and to keep dust down on dirt roads during the summer months.

There's no word yet as to whether or not any of that chemical spilled in the crash."

Two people die in collisions on rural roads

Two people die in collisions on rural roads:

"Two people die in collisions on rural roads
UPDATED: 2007-06-15 01:59:15 MST


By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA

Two people died yesterday in separate collisions on rural roads near the city.

Mounties say it appears both crashes were the result of drivers running stop signs.

Calgary paramedics and RCMP went to both crashes on Hwy. 9.

The first happened about 7 a.m. near Hwy. 566, killing the 44 year-old driver of a smaller vehicle in collision with a water truck. Cops say the truck ran a stop sign.

About four hours later, on Hwy. 9 at Hwy. 564, a 59-year-old woman was killed when she ran a stop sign and hit a cattle liner."

Firefighters battling grass fire : Local : Redding Record Searchlight

Firefighters battling grass fire : Redding Record :

A 15-acre grassland fire is burning this afternoon south of Ono, but there have no reports that any homes are being threatened, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The fire, which was reported around 3:15 p.m., is burning near Trinity Alps Vista and Bland roads.

At least two air tankers, six water tenders, a helicopter, one spotter plane, five engines and a bulldozer have been sent to the scene, the Cal Fire spokesman said.

"

Water Truck, Building Demolition Site on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Water Truck, Building Demolition Site on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Water Truck, Building Demolition Site

View angora bunny's map

Taken in Toronto, Ontario (See more photos here)

43°40' 13" N, 79°22' 50" W43.670192-79.380437

The water truck of the demolition company: ProGreen Demolition.

Man dies in Indio traffic collision with water truck

thedesertsun.com | Man dies in Indio traffic collision:

A motorist was pronounced dead Friday evening after he crashed a Toyota Tundra into a parked water truck and his vehicle caught fire.

The truck was moving west at a high rate of speed on Avenue 48 toward Monroe Street when the collision occurred. For unknown reasons, the Tundra entered a lane that was closed off for construction, Indio Police spokesman Ben Guitron said.

The victim's vehicle pushed the water truck into a parked tractor. No one else was injured in the collision.

Investigators have not identified the victim, but it appears to be a man, Guitron added. It is also unclear if he died from the collision or the fire.

Avenue 48 between Monroe and Arabia streets have been blocked off so police could investigate. The road wasn’t expected to reopen until about 6 a.m."

Bones found in Utah desert could solve 9-year mystery

Bones found in Utah desert could solve 9-year mystery:

SALT LAKE CITY -- In summer 1998, the Four Corners region of southeastern Utah had the feel of an old western novel, complete with good guys, bad guys, a mystery and a manhunt across the high desert under a blistering sun.

In late May that year, a southern Colorado police officer was shot and killed by three camouflage-clad men in a stolen water truck, leading to a search by hundreds of officers in the area where Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico come together.
Two of the fugitives were found dead, months and miles apart, in what police believe were suicides.The whereabouts of the third man remained a mystery for nine years _ until this week.
A cowboy riding through Cross Canyon, near the Utah-Colorado border Tuesday, discovered the remnants of a bulletproof vest, a camouflage backpack, pipe bombs, an AK-47, 500 rounds of ammunition and some human bones.Sheriff Mike Lacy of San Juan County, Utah, believes they are the remains of the last fugitive, Jason McVean.And if DNA tests match, authorities can close the book on that part of the case.
"There's still some mystery to it, because we don't know what their plot was, but I can live with that," said Cortez, Colo., Police Chief Roy Lane.It was a Cortez officer, Dale Claxton, 45, who was gunned down while trying to stop the stolen truck.
"Just knowing that they're all found, they've met their maker, there's none of 'em out there _ that brings some closure," Lane said Wednesday.Police still don't know much about the plans of McVean, 26, of Durango, Colo., and his partners Alan "Monte" Pilon, 30, of Dove Creek, Colo., and Robert Matthew Mason, 26, also of Durango.
The water truck was stolen from Ignacio, Colo., but why the trio wanted it and why they were armed for battle with automatic weapons, handguns and explosives remains unknown.
At the time, the rumor mill churned out stories that the three were anti-government survivalists or eco-terrorists."There's 100 theories out there and all of them sound good to me," Lane said.Claxton, an officer for just three years, was known to police dispatchers as Lobo 11. On the day of the shooting, he stopped at the local junior high to give his teacher-wife a kiss and then hit the road.Police say Claxton spotted the truck and called for backup. Before anyone arrived, however, the truck stopped and the killers jumped out and opened fire.
There were 29 bullets in all _ 19 through the windshield and 10 through the driver's side window, Lane recalled. Claxton never took off his seat belt."It was probably one of the most violent things I've ever seen," said Lane, chief of the Cortez department for 26 years.McVean, Pilon and Mason fled northwest, abandoning the water truck and firing a warning shot at a parks worker at Hovenweep National Monument near the Utah-Colorado border.
In summer, the Four Corners desert is unforgiving. Temperatures soar above 100 degrees and the rough, rocky terrain is pitted with canyons and cliffs as high as 200 feet. Hunting for someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack.Still, officers came by the hundreds from 51 different agencies to comb the canyons near Hovenweep and on the reservation of the Navajo Nation.
Tensions rose June 4 after a San Juan County deputy, Kelly Bradford, was injured by a sniper near the banks of the San Juan River, just east of Bluff, Utah.Bradford was sent to the river after a local social worker said someone fired at him while he was eating lunch.Mason's body, strapped with explosives, was found that same day in a dirt bunker on the south side of the river, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Bradford's shooting forced the evacuation of Bluff's roughly 300 residents. Police posted road blocks to the north and south, checking every vehicle in case McVean and Pilon tried to sneak away in someone's trunk.Police even tried to smoke out the fugitives, setting fire to tamarisk trees and sagebrush in the river bottoms, while helicopters carrying snipers scanned the area from above.The search waned after a few weeks, hampered by jurisdictional squabbles and the sheer difficulty of the task.Navajo police renewed the search around July 1, a month after Claxton's murder, when a young girl said she saw two men in camouflage trying to steal a truck in a nearby Utah town called Montezuma Creek.
By summer's end, however, McVean and Pilon remained at large and were slipping into the pages of folklore. Police conceded they might never be found but kept the case open and vowed to continue to follow any lead.In October 1999, 11 Navajo deer hunters discovered a 9mm handgun and a cache of survival gear next to a pile of human bones in Squaw Canyon about 25 miles northeast of the bunker where Mason was found.An autopsy determined it was Pilon, who had a broken ankle and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.After that, leads trickled in but led nowhere, Lane said. Eight months ago, his officers went to Flagstaff, Ariz., to investigate a reported sighting of McVean.
"He was like an identical twin to (McVean) and I was sure we had him," the chief said.
A fingerprint check, however, proved the man wasn't McVean.
Lane said he's "99 and 9/10ths" sure that the bones found in Cross Canyon, also near Hovenweep, Tuesday will be McVean's.
DNA results should be ready in less than a week. The weapons and ammunition matched those used by Pilon and Mason.A business card inside the backpack was from a small Colorado company owned by Pilon, Lane said.
He said he visited Sue Claxton, who still lives in Cortez, Tuesday night."She's doing well," Lane said. "I think she's relieved, but we all would have liked to have a person to talk to so we'd get some answers."Lane recently hired their son, Corbin Claxton, 20, as a patrol officer."He got his mother's blessing," the chief said. "I'm glad to have him."___


AP newswoman Jennifer Dobner covered the desert manhunt in 1998-1999 for the Deseret Morning News.

Water Trucks and Water Tenders

Poway crash leads to lawsuit against U.S. government
Water Trucks and Water Tenders:

Poway Water Tender crash leads to lawsuit against U.S. government

By: North County Times

SAN DIEGO ---- A Scripps Ranch family has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in connection with a Labor Day 2005 crash in which a U.S. Forest Service Water Tender on its way to a wildfire collided with a sport-utility vehicle in Poway, allegedly causing a wife and mother to suffer severe brain damage.

Filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, the lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of money in damages for Katherine Jones, 47, her husband and her three children.

In letters denying legal claims the Jones family had to file before suing, a government attorney expressed "deepest condolences" to the family, but wrote that the government believes it is not liable for any damages resulting from the collision.

The lawsuit alleges that on Sept. 5, 2005, a U.S. Forest Service water truck was driving west on Scripps Poway Parkway when it went through a red light at Pomerado Road and crashed into the right side of the Jones family's Honda Pilot, where Katherine Jones was seated.

The lawsuit alleges that U.S. government employees were negligent for failing to stop at the red light, safely slow down as the Water Tender approached the intersection or "otherwise ensure the truck could proceed through the red light without endangering other drivers and their passengers."

The forest service truck was on its way to help fight a wildfire in Rancho Penasquitos that burned about 150 acres and prompted the evacuation of about 200 homes.

An attorney for the Jones children, who also were hurt in the crash, said the forest service still had an obligation to proceed cautiously at a red light.

Posted by Bob Blogger at 11:45 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Water Tender crash leads to lawsuit against U.S. government - North County Times / The Californian - Breaking News -

Poway crash leads to lawsuit against U.S. government

Poway Water Tender crash leads to lawsuit against U.S. government

By: North County Times

SAN DIEGO ---- A Scripps Ranch family has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in connection with a Labor Day 2005 crash in which a U.S. Forest Service Water Tender on its way to a wildfire collided with a sport-utility vehicle in Poway, allegedly causing a wife and mother to suffer severe brain damage.

Filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in San Diego, the lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of money in damages for Katherine Jones, 47, her husband and her three children.

In letters denying legal claims the Jones family had to file before suing, a government attorney expressed "deepest condolences" to the family, but wrote that the government believes it is not liable for any damages resulting from the collision.

The lawsuit alleges that on Sept. 5, 2005, a U.S. Forest Service water truck was driving west on Scripps Poway Parkway when it went through a red light at Pomerado Road and crashed into the right side of the Jones family's Honda Pilot, where Katherine Jones was seated.

The lawsuit alleges that U.S. government employees were negligent for failing to stop at the red light, safely slow down as the Water Tender approached the intersection or "otherwise ensure the truck could proceed through the red light without endangering other drivers and their passengers."

The forest service truck was on its way to help fight a wildfire in Rancho Penasquitos that burned about 150 acres and prompted the evacuation of about 200 homes.

An attorney for the Jones children, who also were hurt in the crash, said the forest service still had an obligation to proceed cautiously at a red light.

Water Tender rollover on wildland fire

wtr-tndr-rollover.jpg (JPEG Image, 640x480 pixels)

http://www.wildlandfire.com/pics/equip10/wtr-tndr-rollover.jpg

Bolli Incident,WaterTender Accident; 72-hour Briefing
Sharon Heywood, Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity Arlen Cravens, Fire Management Officer, Shasta-Trinity

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Preliminary factual findings: On May 25^th, contract Water Tender (WT) E41 was assigned to dust abatement on Forest Road 35N18 on the Bolli incident on the Shasta-McCloud Management Unit of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. E41 was driving southerly along 35N18 towards Curl ridge. The vehicle’s left tires left the hardened surface of the roadway causing the vehicle to roll and slide down the embankment approximately 200 feet. Cab & chassis were separated from the water tank and came to rest right side up approximately 200 feet down the embankment. The driver was discovered outside the vehicle and about 50 feet above it. The driver had lacerations to the head and was bruised with possible fractures. Rescuers performed extraction procedures and a medical evacuation to Mercy Medical Hospital. The driver was treated and kept overnight for observation and released on May 26^th.

Narrative: WT E41 is a type 2 water tender, 1974 Kenworth 900, license number SE505316, with 2500-3000 gallon capacity. At 1130 at the Water Tender Group briefing in the field, water tender E41 was assigned to continue watering 35N18, the main access route to the fire. WT E41 proceeded southerly from the bottom of Sheep Camp access road to begin dust abatement where the previous water tender had left off.

At 1208 a call from WT E59 indicated that a water tender had gone off the road and that the driver was found outside the vehicle trying to climb back up the hill. Tracks indicate that WT E41 was headed southerly up a relatively straight stretch of road 35N18 when the left wheels of vehicle went onto the soft shoulder and the vehicle could not return to the hardened travel way. Apparently, the vehicle rolled upside down and slid down hill until another obstacle flipped it back upright. It is unclear when the cab/chassis and the water tank became separated. The roof of the cab was ripped off, remaining attached only at one corner, and the top of the water tank was severely scraped. However, damage to the vehicle was not as severe as expected: the water tank was not ruptured; the truck tires were all intact except the left inside dual; the dash, steering column, and seat were intact; and the fuel tanks were intact. Debris from the descent was distributed in a fairly narrow corridor. There was no water left in the tank and no evidence of loss of a large quantity of water at the scene. The road bed at the scene was not wet when the responders arrived.

It is unclear when and how the driver got out of the vehicle. It is also not clear if the driver was wearing his seat belt at the beginning of the accident or removed it during the accident. When found by E59 contract water tender driver, E41’s driver was told to remain in place until medical assistance could arrive. Due to the driver’s injuries and the difficult nature of his location, CHP worked with Incident Command on a helicopter extraction. Bolli Incident staff prepared the driver for extraction; the CHP Helicopter extracted the driver and transferred him to the life flight helicopter (REACH) for transfer to Mercy Medical Hospital for evaluation and necessary medical care. The driver suffered lacerations, bruises and a fractured thumb.

At this time there is no evidence that any other vehicles were involved in the accident. Road 35N18 is a level 2 road in steep terrain. Road conditions at the accident site were unremarkable: road alignment grade in the direction of travel was 4-6% uphill; there is no outsloping evident on this stretch of road; and the hardened travel way is 11 feet wide. As you are facing the direction of travel, there is a sheer rock cut bank on the right side of the road and the embankment on the left drops off at about an 80% slope. Turnout opportunities were available about 100 feet before the site and another visible farther south up the road at the next spur ridge.

Records indicate that appropriate vehicle inspections had occurred prior to the incident. There is no information available about the speed of the vehicle.

Vehicle inspection will occur after recovery and a coordinated CHP and Law Enforcement investigation is still ongoing.

/s/ Donna F. Harmon

Donna F. Harmon

District Ranger South Fork Management Unit