Incident Name: Honda Canyon Fire
Date: 12/20/1977, approximately 0945 hrs
Personnel: 4 Lives Lost
Age:
Agency/Organization: Vandenberg Air Force Base
Position:
Summary:
Colonel Joseph Turner, 48
Fire Chief Billy Bell, 44
Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper, 45
Heavy Equipment Operator Clarence McCauley
Around 0700 a downed power line started a fire on Vandenburg Air Force Base. Fire and Military personnel from the base, and Santa Barbara County Resources responded. The fire was driven by Santa Ana winds, and made a major run around 0930 hrs towards crews working in Honda Canyon. Joseph Turner, Billy Bell, and Eugene Cooper tried to escape, but were entrapped on Avery Road; all 3 were found deceased at 1200. Clarence McCauley was operating a bulldozer on Target Ridge Road, he was badly burned and died 2 weeks later. There were a total of 8 fire overruns (85 K pdf) on the Honda Canyon Fire.
Colonel Joseph Turner, Fire Chief Billy Bell, Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper, Heavy Equipment Operator Clarence McCauley
Maps
Accident Site (approximate) {mosmap lat=’34.61268’| lon=’-120.616485’|text=’Burnover Location for the Honda Canyon Fire’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Honda Canyon Fire: Fact Overview (1.6 MB pdf)
- Excerpt From The Fire Season, Wildfire Magazine: Courtesy of Joe Valencia (101K pdf)
- Beyond Tranquillon Ridge, By Joe Valencia
Return to top
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports.
3 of the 4 Fallen are Named
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
Contributors to this article: Joe Valencia
Please support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation
