State report: Cal Fire engineer trapped by flames before dying in Thomas Fire

Ventura

A Cal Fire engineer killed in the Thomas Fire was trapped by flames while he and his team tried to douse flare-ups last month above Fillmore.

Fire and smoke billow up as a helicopter makes a drop near Fillmore on Dec. 14. Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson died that morning while battling a flare-up of the Thomas Fire.

That's according to a preliminary report recently released by the state agency. The report details the chain of events from Dec. 14, when Cory Iverson, 32, died in the blaze. It also lists safety issues for review.

"It's not closure," said Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean. "We have solidity about what happened."

The document, McLean said, was the work of 12 employees who spoke with witnesses, reviewed radio transmissions and studied the scene.

"It's one of those things where you get your hands dirty," he said.

McLean said the report would be used as an educational tool for other fire agencies and departments as California moves into a year-round fire season.

"(The report) gives us a direction to go in," he said.

We are living in unprecedented times with these fires, McLean said, noting the extreme conditions that led to the Thomas Fire's explosive growth including humidity at or below zero and red flag warnings that extended for more than a week.

Iverson, who worked for Cal Fire since 2009, had responded to help battle the Ventura County blaze as part of a fire engine strike team out of the agency's San Diego unit.

The Thomas Fire exploded in Ventura County about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 under extreme conditions. It burned quickly through dead and drought-stressed vegetation pushed by gusty Santa Ana winds and grew to become the largest fire in California's recorded history.

The fire, which burned about 440 square miles in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, was fully contained Friday. Two people died and 1,063 structures were destroyed as it burned more than 281,000 acres.

Early on Dec. 14, Iverson's team was working in steep, rugged terrain above Fillmore when the fire whipped up.

About 9 a.m., he and several firefighters were working along a line cut by two bulldozers when a spot fire flared in the area.

Within minutes, the small fires were growing fast.

Four firefighters were able to retreat up an escape route and were uninjured, according to the preliminary report. Iverson, however, became trapped while trying to put out the flames and was killed.

Autopsy results showed he died from burns and smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.

Authorities said the engineer's death warrants a "regular review" of the Foundations of Safety for Wildland Firefighting.

The report also notes that extreme fire behavior has been observed on California wildfires, including the Thomas Fire, due to critically dry brush that in many cases has found fire retardant to be "ineffective."

The steep terrain, heavy vegetation and hazardous weather conditions such as erratic winds and low humidity — all of which were present when Iverson died — contribute to that extreme fire behavior, the report states.

"On Dec. 2, 2017, the Oxnard office of the National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning for the Ventura County area, ending on Dec. 15, 2017. In the days to follow, this would become the longest continuous red-flag warning ever issued in the state of California, lasting 13 days," according to the report.

When fire activity changes and moves in an unexpected way it should require crews to pause and re-evaluate the situation, the report states.

"One spot along the dozer line was safe enough to pick up. When there were spot fires that prevented safe travel back to the dozer line, a re-evaluation should have taken place," the report states.

Before Iverson and the team began their 24-hour shift two safety briefings were held, according to the report.

It was not known what was said at those meetings.

The crew was in the second half of its shift when Iverson became trapped. They worked from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 13 mopping up flames that had gone over a fire line on a ridge southwest of an avocado orchard, the report states.

After that, they didn't find any other work in the area but remained there until about 3:30 a.m. Dec. 14. They moved around the area as hot spots flared up and topped off their water tenders as they went, according to the report.

By about 8:15 a.m. their efforts turned to the southern portion of the Santa Paula Ridge where flames broke out and began moving down the slope toward the orchard.

Two bulldozers were being used to cut a line near the orchard in the area, and crews went in to lay hoses along the line. A fire captain acted as lookout and Iverson directed the team to stay in the "safety zone" created by the already-burned area.

They each carried 300 feet of hose. Iverson also carried a scraping tool. As they started, the fire backed up to the dozer line, the report states.

This undated photo provided by Cal Fire shows Fire Apparatus Engineer Cory Iverson, right, with his wife, Ashley, and their daughter Evie. Iverson, who worked for the department's San Diego Unit as a member of a fire strike team, died while fighting the Thomas Fire north of Fillmore.

As they worked, a spot fire started burning in front of Iverson, and as he worked to put it out with a tool, a second one was reported nearby.

Iverson dropped some of the hose from his pack and went to put out the second spot fire. When he got there, it erupted.

"At the same time, additional spot fires erupted along the dozer line west of the original spot fire," the report notes.

With spot fires growing fast, firefighters' hoses did little to quell the flames. Iverson called in a request for air support. That was his last confirmed radio transmission, the report states.

By 9:25 a.m., a captain reported to Iverson that additional spots were burning below him. "He told (Iverson) to 'get out of there.'"

As the fire ramped up, four other firefighters dropped their hose packs and retreated along the dozer line.

At 9:27 a.m., a captain called "mayday." More teams responded, including helicopters, which reported seeing Iverson retreating from the flames. But two spots erupted in his path, forcing him to switch direction.

Tall vegetation in the area reached as high as his chest and head in spots. At times, only the top of his helmet could be seen, according to the report.

As crews tried to douse the flames by air, others tried to cool down a route for teams to search for Iverson. At 10:05 a.m., his body was found in a deep gulch south of his last known position, the report states. An emergency fire shelter had not been deployed.

Cal Fire personnel stayed with his body until it could be escorted from the scene.

At the time of Iverson's death, Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott announced the fatality, saying little about the circumstances. Pimlott said a "serious accident review team" would investigate what happened.

Iverson is survived by his wife, Ashley, and 2-year-old daughter Evie. His wife is pregnant with their second daughter.