Incident Name: Brush Fire near Los Alamos, CA
Date: Incident Date: August 17, 1968; Death Date: August 27, 1968
Personnel: John Allen Worley
Age: 32
Agency/Organization: Santa Barbara County
Position: firefighter, Fire Heavy Equipment Operator
Summary:
John Worley was operating a bulldozer while fighting a 600-acre brush fire near Los Alamos on August 17, 1968 when he was critically injured. He jumped from the bulldozer and broke his leg as the fire overran him. He died ten days later at the Los Angeles County General Hospital with burns over 70% of his body. Members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department kept watch 24 hours a day during Worley’s stay.
Maps
The brush fire was near Los Alamos; John died in the Los Angeles County General Hospital
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Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- California Death Index: John Worley
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Worley had attained the rank of captain, and worked at stations in Santa Ynez, Lompoc, Goleta and Buellton.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- California Firefighters Memorial Wall: 1960-1969 – John Allen Worley, 1968 (pdf)
- Santa Barbara County Fire Department Fallen Firefighters Memorial
- Remembering the Fallen3/31/12 | santamariatimes.com
The memorial for eight Santa Barbara County firefighters who died in the line of duty is shown this week (March 2012) outside county fire headquarters on Cathedral Oaks Road in Santa Barbara. The memorial, which has been in the works for more than 10 years, will be dedicated this morning… More at the link, including summaries of the incident circumstances of the fallen.
Santa Barbara County Fallen Firefighter Memorial: Located outside county fire headquarters at 4410 Cathedral Oaks Rd, in Santa Barbara.
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Contributors to this article: Santa Barbara County Capt. Curt Warner, Ted Mathiasen
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