Incident Name: A fire on the Travis Complex, Mad River Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest
Date: 9/5/87, about 2000 hours
Personnel: Sir Isaac “Ike” Lindsay, Jr of Rialto, CA
Age: 18
Agency/Organization: California Conservation Corps
Position: Firefighter
Summary: On September 5, 1987, Sir Isaac Lindsay, of the California Conservation Corps was killed when a tree fell across his crew vehicle. A green tree burned out at the base and fell, SRF Zenia Engine was first on scene, provided first aid, and called for assistance. Ike was the only one of his 16 member crew that died. Several others suffered a broken hip or a cut to the head. Ike and his crew were assigned to a fire in the Travis Complex, Mad River Ranger District, Six Rivers National Forest.
Maps
started back to base camp near Travis, CA, after a long day of firefighting on the Travis Complex on the Mad River R.D. Six Rivers National Forest, about 70 miles west of Redding.
{mosmap lat=’40.458984’|lon=’-123.466013’|marker=’0’|text=’Mad River Ranger District, Six Rivers NF’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- NWCG Safetygram for 1987 (single page excerpt)
- USFA Memorial Database: Sir Isaac “Ike” Lindsay, Jr
- California Death Index: Sir Isaac Lindsay
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Death of a Firefighter : First Blaze Fatality in Conservation Corps HistoryWas a ‘Good’ Son Who Just Wanted to Help Others
September 11, 1987 | LA Times: | Online Article
Lindsay Jr., the second on-duty firefighter to die in these blazes (following loss of U.S. Forest Service’s Bruce Visser of San Bernardino County, killed Sept. 1 in a motorcycle crash) was the first CCC member in the corps’ 12-year history to lose his life fighting a fire.
(Read this article to find out how Sir Isaac Lindsay got his unusual name and to catch the vision of this family 24 years ago. Since the link no longer works, I believe the story said that Senior “Sir Isaac “was named after Sir Isaac Newton.))
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Ike Jr is survived by his school teacher mom Mattie Lindsay, his security officer/law enforcement dad Sr Isaac Lindsay Sr, and Ike’s fiance Kimberly Daniel.
- Ike’s services were held at 11 a.m. September 12 in Loveland Church in Fontana, CA. Motorcycle processional with 5 engines escorting his casket for the journey from the funeral home to the church and several accompanied the hearse to Forest Lawn in West Covina.
- California Firefighter Memorial Wall list by department; first California Conservation Corpsman to die on a firefighting assignment.
Contributors to this article: Mike Jamison
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This happened on the Travis Complex on The SRF, Mad River R.D. A green tree burned out at the base and fell, SRF Zenia Engine was first on scene and provided first aid, and called for assistance.
Thanks, Mike. I incorporated your info into the page. We appreciate contributions like this very much.