Incident Name: Mound House Fire
Date: incident 8/27/83, approximately 1500-1529 hours; death date 8/28/83
Personnel: Keith Lemmons, Alaska BLM
Age: 27
Agency/Organization: Bureau of Land Management
Position: firefighter; Dragon Wagon Attack Unit crew member
Summary: On August 27, 1983, Keith Lemmons of Alaska BLM was on a detail to Carson City District BLM, fighting the 3000-acre Mound House Fire east of Carson City, NV. Lemmons was part of a Dragon Wagon Attack Unit, comprised of Dragon Wagon and Chase Truck. He was entrapped when he became separated in the smoke from his Chase Truck, and winds that had been blowing to the south in excess of 28 mph suddenly changed to a northeast direction. Human factors played a large part in the entrapment. Communications failed. Keith had no fire shelter with him and was unprotected as rapidly-shifting flame lengths of approximately 25-30 feet blew horizontally, burning Keith. He was life-flighted to a hospital in Reno where he died the next day.
Maps
Fatality Location:
{mosmap lat=’39.216111’|lon=’-119.684481’|marker=’0’|text=’Fatality Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- BLM Mound House Accident Report: Mound House Fire
- Mound House Accident Report Visuals (9 files for easier download):
- Fatality Location Map (122 K jpg)
- Topographic Features Map 1 (137 K jpg)
- Fuels Map 2 (166 K jpg)
- Fire Behavior Map 3 (168 K jpg)
- Fire Behavior Chart of Flame Lengths-ROS (97 K jpg)
- Fatality Location Schematic 1 (31 K jpg)
- Sketch 1 of Vegetation on flat topography (142 K jpg)
- Airtanker and Vehicle Location Schematic 2 (38 K jpg)
- Sketch 2 of Vehicles on road – tanker mishap (150 K jpg)
- Many lessons were learned from this fire and its sad, unnecessary fatality: The importance of clear communications and leadership, of establishing interagency chain-of-command, the importance of carrying and using a fire shelter, and the benefit of timely use of airtankers on IA when the fire is small, are a few. The report has extensive findings and recommendations, and implications for training abound.
- Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP): Mound House Staff Ride – Remembering Keith Lemmons
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Announcement of Keith’s death:
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- USFA Memorial Database: Keith L Lemmons
- Nevada Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial: Keith Lemmons
Contributors to this article: Bob Simpson, Mellie
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I worked with Keith in Alaska for the Alaska Fire Service early in the 1983 season. I was the foreman for the old Blackrock Hotshots (later to become Kern Valley) and was detailed to AK for the early fires as an Air Service Manager (ASM-I, Helitack. As the fire season heated up in the lower 48 we returned to our crews. I heard Keith had died on a fire in Nevada and it deeply affected me. It was nice to find his name here, as a memorial.