Incident Name: Pardee Fire on Idaho Department of Lands, Maggie Creek Forest Protective District
Date: 7/8/2013
Personnel: Dennis Long of Clarkson WA
Age: 65
Agency/Organization: private contractor under contract with the Idaho Department of Lands
Position: firefighter, heavy equipment operator
Summary: Heavy Equipment Operator Long became ill while operating a dozer and putting in a fireline during suppression operations on the 250-acre Pardee Fire located between Greer and Kamiah, Idaho, on the east side of the Clearwater River. The dozer boss performed CPR on Long before Life Flight and emergency medical services arrived on scene, shortly after which Long was pronounced dead. The nature of fatal injury is still to be reported. Media reports call it “an apparent heart attack or other natural cause.”
Dennis Long photo courtesy of the Long Family
Maps
Between Greer and Kamiah, Idaho on the east side of the Clearwater River.
Pardee Fire, located approximately 8 mi NW of Kamiah, ID
{mosmap lat=’46.306708’|lon=’-116.125839’|marker=’0’|text=’Pardee Fire Location’}
Incident Location: Between Greer and Kamiah, Idaho on the east side of the Clearwater River; more specific location not available.
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- National Fire News at NIFC (screensave) | On the Web- pdf
- Pardee Fire Fatality, BLM: 24-hour Report (119 K pdf)
- BLM & ID Department of Lands: 72-hour Report (94 K pdf)
- BLM and IDL: Pardee Fire Fatality Factual Report (2,613 K pdf)
Wildlandfire.com Links:
- Theysaid: 7/10/2013
- Hotlist 7/9/13: ID-Idaho Department of Lands-Pardee LODD
Media Articles and Reports
- Bulldozer operator dies while fighting N. Idaho wildfire7/8/2013 | Online article
KAMIAH, Idaho — A private bulldozer operator working on the Pardee Fire in northern Idaho died of a heart attack Monday. Officials with the Idaho Department of Lands report that Dennis Long of Clarkston died from an apparent heart attack or other natural causes. Clarkston, who is a private contractor in his 50s, was using the machine to put in a fire line, according to reports. The IDL says a dozer boss perform CPR on Long, who was pronounced dead at the scene. (More at the link…)
- Dozer operator dies while cutting fireline7/9/2012 | Online article
BOISE — A Washington state logging contractor who was using a bulldozer to cut fire line in central Idaho has died of an apparent heart attack or other natural causes. Idaho Department of Lands officials say Dennis Long of Clarkston, Wash., was working Monday afternoon on the Pardee Fire northwest of Kamiah when he collapsed. Long’s dozer boss performed CPR until emergency medical responders arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene. (More at the link…)
- Equipment Operator Dies While Working Pardee Fire In Kamiah7/9/2013 | Online article
- Pardee Wildfire outside Kamiah may have been started by lightning7/10/2013 | Online article
- Firefighting death in North Idaho underscores unclear rules7/22/2014 | Online Article
An investigative report on the death of the bulldozer operator in North Idaho said his heart attack was not caused by his firefighting effort. But the brother of Dennis Long of Clarkston, Wash., said the heat, stress and frustration of operating an uninspected bulldozer that overheated on a steep mountain slope between Greer and Kamiah was more than his brother’s heart could take. “If he hadn’t been on that Cat at 6 p.m. on the fire line, he wouldn’t have had a heart attack,” said Pat Long, a retired logger, sheet metal worker and fishing guide from Clarkston.
Dennis Long died fighting the Pardee Fire soon after it was sparked by lightning July 8, 2013, on the east side of the Clearwater River, eight miles northwest of Kamiah. The fire grew to 300 acres before it was contained a week later. (Much more at the link…)
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- USFA Memorial Database – preliminary: Dennis Long
- Dennis Long is survived by his wife and adult daughter.
Contributors to this article: Flash, Firefighter of Chaos, RJM
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