Incident Name: Green Ridge Fire (lightning fire #398) in the Mount Washington Wilderness near Little Round Top Mountain and Dougout Lake on the Deschutes National Forest
Date: 8/1/2013, approximately 0910 hrs
Personnel: John Hammack of Madras OR
Age: 58
Agency/Organization: Contract firefighter working for R&K Water Service under contract with the USFS
Position: faller/firefighter
Summary: On 7/31 and 8/1, dozens of fires were started by lightning in the Deschutes National Forest west of Sisters, Oregon. During initial attack on the Green Ridge Fire in the Mt Washington Wilderness, the two firefighters who were the 2-person falling crew were hit by a snag that fell out of the top of the lightning-struck 64″-diameter legacy Douglas fir. John Hammack died on scene. The other firefighter who was injured called for help and was airlifted to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
John Hammack and his granddaughter
Maps
Accident Location 7 mi west of Sisters OR at the intersection of FR 1030 and FR 470
{mosmap lat=’44.327126’|lon=’-121.751265’|marker=’0’|text=’Accident Location’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Forest Service: PNW Press Release (365 K pdf)
- Forest Service: 72-hr Report Incident 398 Fatality (183 K pdf)
- Forest Service: Faller Fatality Incident 398 – Facilitated Learning Analysis (2607 K pdf)
Interesting FLA. Here’s the final paragraph: At approximately 0900 two contract fallers were preparing to fall a large Doug Fir tree which was burning at about 70 feet above ground. All other firefighters had hiked away from this tree to provide a safe distance for falling. The fallers were at the base of the tree, but had not yet begun cutting the tree, when the top portion of the tree with several green limbs attached broke away from the main tree and fell upon the contract fallers. John Hammack was killed instantly. The other faller was knocked to the ground, breaking both of his shoulder blades.
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
- Firefighter killed, 2nd injured on fire west of Sisters8/1/2013 | Online article
Sisters, Ore. – One firefighter was killed and a second injured Thursday west of Sisters as they joined other crews battling a string of lightning-sparked fires in the high Cascades, authorities confirmed.
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue crews, and an ambulance headed to the area of Forest Roads 470 and 1030, about seven miles west of Sisters Thursday morning after the incident, which reportedly involved a fallen tree snag hitting at least one of the firefighters.
Rappel teams and water-dropping helicopters also were sent to the area to make sure both victims could be safely reached and brought out. An AirLink helicopter reportedly headed to the area to assist in the rescue, as did sheriff’s detectives and other personnel.The steep, rugged terrain prompted call-out of several SAR members who specialize in mountain rescues. Further details were not immediately available. (More at the link…)
- Falling snag kills firefighter, injures second8/1/13 | Online Article
A firefighter has been killed and another seriously injured in a tree-falling incident on a fire west of Sisters. The incident occurred on a lightning-sparked fire north of Highway 242 in the Mt. Washington Wilderness near Dugout Lake. The firefighters were reportedly struck by a falling snag this morning shortly after 9 a.m. The Forest Service reports that one died at the scene and another was transported to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. The fallers worked for R & K Water Services out of Bonney Lake, WA. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is in command of the incident. (More at the link…)
- 1 firefighter dies, another injured in blaze near Sisters8/1/13 | Online Article
The accident was reported just after 9 a.m., according to Jean Nelson-Dean, spokeswoman for the Deschutes National Forest. The two were part of a falling crew, hired to remove hazardous trees, in the Mount Washington Wilderness near Little Round Top Mountain in the Deschutes National Forest. (More at the link…)
- Authorities ID Redmond man killed in fire W. of Sisters8/1/2013 | Online Article
SISTERS, Ore. – Two contract firefighters helping battle a blaze in the Mt. Washington Wilderness Area west of Sisters were struck by a falling tree snag Thursday, killing a Redmond man and injuring a co-worker from Sisters, the U.S. Forest Service reported.
Thursday afternoon, the two men were identified as John Hammack, 60, of Redmond, who died at the scene, and Norman Crawford, 45, of Sisters, who was taken to St. Charles-Bend, treated for his injuries and released. Hammack and Crawford were tree fallers working on an initial attack crew near Dugout Lake in the Mt. Washington Wilderness Area on the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest. (More at the link…)
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
- Emotional Rodeo Tribute held to honor John Hammack8/2/2013 | Online Article
REDMOND, OR (KPTV) – An emotional tribute was held at the start of the Deschutes County Rodeo in Redmond on Friday night to honor John Hammack, the professional tree faller contractor who died Thursday morning after being hit by a fallen tree near Dugout Lake in the Mt. Washington Wilderness area of the Deschutes National Forest. Rodeo organizers said that they wanted to take time to honor Hammack for everything he gave to the rodeo world in Central Oregon during his lifetime. This year’s Deschutes County Rodeo was dedicated in Hammack’s honor… (More at the link concerning all his rodeo honors and presence of the Color Guard…)
- YouTube: John Hammock Procession (58 sec)
- Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber ordered all flags at public institutions to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset next Tuesday 8/13/2013, in honor of Hammack.
“John Hammack was an experienced logger performing critical work on a fire in Central Oregon,” Kitzhaber said. “He was also a talented rodeo competitor and beloved father, grandfather, husband, and friend. His loss is felt by everyone who knew him and by those of us learning about his sacrifice on the front lines of fighting Oregon wildfires. I send my deep condolences to his family and friends, and I urge all Oregonians to join me in honoring John and his service to Oregon.”
- USFA Memorial Database: John Hammack
- Hammack’s memorial is planned for Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the South Sister Room of the Deschutes County Fairgrounds, along with a potluck dinner. The family says “the event is open to the public who wishes to honor Hammack, 58, of Madras, killed by a falling treetop on a small fire about 7 mi W of Sisters.”
- Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training: Five approved for addition to Oregon State’s Fallen Firefighter Memorial – 7/24/2014
John Hammack – Deschutes County, Deschutes National Forest
BACKGROUND: “On August 1, 2013, John Hammack, 58, a professional feller employed by R&K Water Service was part of a two person felling module assigned to Incident 398 on the Sisters Ranger District, Deschutes National Forest, near Bend, Oregon. Incident 398 included the task of felling a large 64” diameter legacy Douglas Fir that was struck by lightning and set the top on fire. District personnel took initial action late in the day of July 31, 2013 but they did not have the time or proper tools to safely control the fire without taking undue risk, which included felling the tree. The mission on August 1, 2013 was for the felling module of John Hammack and his felling module partner to fell the burning tree. This was not a particularly unusual assignment. At approximately 0911 hours, after several actions to prepare for a safe felling environment and just as John was returning to the base of the tree, a large portion of the top of the tree burned out, broke loose and tragically fell directly onto John killing him instantly while indirectly striking and injuring his felling partner.
- John Hammack family photo:
Contributors to this article: Amanda DeSchazo, WFF
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