Standing Accountable -- Lessons Learned from Cerro Grande 
[32 minutes]
Paul Gleason's insights on Type 3 IC decision making and other lessons learned from the Cerro Grande Prescribed fire escape. Presented to a S-490 Advanced Wildland Fire Behavior Calculation class in Fort Collins, Colorado on January 23, 2001.
 

 

This two-part video features a first-person account of a fire shelter deployment on the 2005 I-90 Tarkio Fire that focuses on human factors.                       .

 

 

This two-part video reviews the 2006 Venus Fire Shelter Deployment — focusing on communication and situational awareness. 

 

 

 

 

This dramatic video documents a hand crew shelter deployment on the 2007 Santiago Fire. Video courtesy of the LA Times.  

 

 

 

 

Video - See and learn several lessons from a 1999 fatality fire that involved flashy fuels.

 

 

 

The Dude Fire Staff Ride is a 30-minute DVD available for previewing and ordering here.

 

Chapter 1: Spatial Orientation and Fire Overview (7:01)
A Brief orientation and overview of the terrain at South Canyon. This animation includes a description by Mike da Luz and a chronology of important dates and times.

Chapter 2: A Walk up South Canyon (21:45)
Mike da Luz shares his personal story about July 6, 1994 and what that day meant to him. This presentation was first given in October of 1994 to the fall fire staff meeting in the Pacific Northwest Region shortly after Mike’s second trip up Storm King Mountain. It has been given scores of times to hundreds of people over the past 12 years. This videotaping captured Mike’s presentation with his original slides that he shared and every effort was made to stay true to his program.

Chapter 3: Epilogue - Return to South Canyon (12:46)

Mike da Luz returns to South Canyon 13 years after his first trip up the mountain. It’s a story of lives lost and lives saved; lives touched and certainly lives changed. Mike reflected on what has changed and what has stayed the same. It’s a reminder of the issues of objectives and responsibility; policy, and a return to hallowed ground. We will always have tragic outcomes, but it’s not inevitable. The consequences of actions and decisions are critical and South Canyon offers us lessons learned and time to reflect and hopefully to never forget. Mike’s return is not just the story of those who died, but also those who survived and to ask each of us what would you do? Mike shares what he’s learned and what he’s gained over time.

Chapter 4: Leadership (39:04)
Mike da Luz looks at some of the components of leadership and ties it to his 30 plus years of fire management both in line and staff positions with the U.S. Forest Service. He discusses leadership and management and how that relates to exposure, stress, multiple priorities and the shift in fire related skill mixes and staffing. His program talks about leadership and fire and some of the process, political and social changes that are changing the way fire is fought. Mike stresses that it has to be safety first, every fire, every time.