PILITAS #1 & SPANISH RANCH FIRES
The 1950 Pilitas #1 Fire and the 1979 Spanish Ranch Fire both occurred in San Luis Obispo County near the Central California coast and both resulted in 4 firefighter fatalities. One fire is nearly forgotten to history and one fire is well remembered with an annual staff ride that is required for local firefighters.
This 5th annual event for the Old Men & Fire kicked off with most of the group participating in the Tahoe Hotshot Half Marathon (some finished and some didn’t, but all met their goal) and camping at New Bullards Bar Reservoir on April 17-18, 2026. Following the run and after-party, everyone (except Chad and his van) migrated south to the town of San Luis Obispo and set up shop in a large old Victorian house near downtown. After a day of touring SLO and tending to post-run maladies, the group was treated to a Tri-Tip BBQ at Denny and Lynette O’Neils house. Dan Buckley, along with Denny O’Neil and Phil Veneris (both retired CalFire), explained the plan they had put together for our next couple days.
The following morning, we linked up with Dan Dulitz (retired CalFire) who has done extensive research on the Pilitas #1 Fire. He provided a tour that filled in the blanks for the sparse documentation that exists regarding this fire. Joining us were the crews of Engine 3464 and Engine 40 from the CalFire Park Hill Station along with Battalion Chief Josh Heinbach.
The next day, the group met with Mike Cole, Steve Mello, and Jeff Lannon (all retired CalFire); all three were associated with the Spanish Ranch Fire in different roles and gave their perspectives as we hiked the 1979 dozer line that was still evident. Joining us were the crews of Engine 3467 and Engine 3470 from the CalFire Nipomo Station.
To wrap-up the week our newest OM&F recruit, Jerry Williams, spearheaded the closeout dinner along with a 70th birthday celebration for Kurt La Rue.
Individual Takeaways:
Tom Boatner, former Smokejumper Base Manager and Bureau of Land Management Chief of Fire Operations – I keep returning to long established wisdom when I think about our recent visits to Pilitas #1 and Spanish Ranch, wisdom that has been accumulated over the years at the cost of firefighter lives. Things like direct attack vs indirect attack, light flashy fuels, steep ground, unburned fuel between you and the fire, inaccurate SA on current conditions affecting fire behavior like shifting, unexpected winds, no one with eyes on the fire or in commo with someone who does, human factors at play amongst the leaders and the led. What would my SA have been in their shoes, what decisions would I have made, what actions would I have taken? Would I have assessed approaching dangers accurately, would I have effectively communicated my concerns? I focus on the need to be constantly vigilant about common variables affecting fires and firefighters and how easy it is to miss key moments, key gates as you move past them or they move past you. History is old things happening to new people.
Dan Buckley, former Hotshot Superintendent and National Park Service Fire Director – It is a tale of two San Luis Obispo County fires, each with four firefighter fatalities. The 1979 Spanish Ranch Fire is well known. It was investigated, has a published staff ride, has had numerous papers written about it, has had a book written about it, and has a memorial site on Highway 166 with plans for additional memorials at the actual accident site. The 1950 Pilitas Fire was nearly lost to obscurity. There was no written report, just a few newspaper articles and a one-page document written by one of the survivors. There is no memorial anywhere. Thanks to the efforts of retired CalFire employees Dan Dulitz and Mike Cole, along with the Old Men and Fire group, the Pilitas Fire victims will not be forgotten. A memorial is being planned for the location of their accident on Huer Huero Road near Santa Margarita Lake. Additional details on both of these fires can be accessed in the 100 Fires Project on the Wildland Firefighter Foundation website.
Jim Cook, former Hotshot Superintendent and US Forest Service Training Projects Coordinator – A wind with no name…a chapter title from Dan Dulitz’s book draft. Two fires affected by winds that were locally well-known but still took the firefighters by surprise. The fires were years apart, but the situation with the wind shifts is timeless. Wind is in the Common Denominators, it is in the Watch Outs, it is implied in the Firefighting Orders, it is in every shift briefing and every weather observation. We know about it, but we never really know it; wind has many faces. As I thought about the wind with no name, all the other places where local winds can make a difference came to mind…Salmon River Breaks, Elsinore Lake, Eastern Sierra downslope winds, Central Valley Thermal Low, Delta winds in Alaska, Chinooks and Mountain Waves in the Rockies, Sundowners…some have names, some have several names, some don’t have any name. We have a downcanyon wind on the Main Payette River corridor that is exceptionally strong and of long-duration every morning in the summer, well above normal diurnal expectations; it doesn’t have a name. There might be an interesting exercise in cataloging some of the more notable local wind influences… maybe one would be named Mariah.
Ken Kremensky, former Lakeside Fire Department Chief and current Barona Fire Department Chief – Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. As you can see, I am still formulating my thoughts.
Kurt La Rue, former Hotshot Superintendent and Bureau of Land Management NIFC Fire Operations Specialist – On our stops at Spanish Ranch and Pilitas #1, I kept thinking how similar these tragedies are to so many others. I am struck by the repeating cycle of bad outcomes in these same conditions.
We currently study each of our tragedy fires, often in great detail, separately. While we do teach and list the Common Denominators, these are also presented as separate courses. Seeing so many of these themes repeated I am
reminded that “hearing” about a topic isn’t the same as “learning” from it. Learning is demonstrated when people start to recognize the similarities in their current situations and apply what they’ve learned to adjust their plans.
After seeing how often these same situations arise and have bad outcomes, I would consider changing over from a study of individual tragedies to building the courses around reoccurring themes and how many times repeated failures to recognize these themes have led to fatalities. The lessons from 1922 are no less relevant today than the same mistakes made in 2022. Overlooking the past to “update” the same missed lessons runs the possibility of them “hearing” but not “learning” from what is, in many cases, a very long harsh history.
Bill Molumby, former Hotshot Superintendent, US Fish & Wildlife Service Zone Fire Management Officer, and National Type 1 Incident Commander – Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. As you can see, I am still formulating my thoughts.
Bryan Scholz, former Hotshot Foreman and District Assistant Fire Management Officer – On the ridgeline at Spanish Ranch are three piles of rocks. Not cairns, not rock works carefully fitted and arranged, just heaps of rocks. They are absent of dignity, but they are full of meaning. They mark where three of the four firefighters who died fighting this fire fell.
During our staff ride, when Jeff came down the ridge from the highpoint to the rock piles, he stopped, and he placed his hand on each of the piles. And I knew what he was doing.
Bob Bell was one of the group leaders on the earliest South Canyon staff rides. He taught and led with passion and enthusiasm. At the end of the evening orientation before field day, he would tell the students to "Touch the cross." When they were up on the hill the next day, he wanted the students to put their hands on the crosses of the fallen, to make that connection with the people and the place.
I tell the students on the South Canyon staff ride the same thing. And I felt it when I saw Jeff, who was on the Spanish Ranch fire and knew the fallen, "touch the cross." It was the best moment of the day.
Don Will, former Hotshot Superintendent and Forest Deputy Fire Chief –
Pilitas #1 - This fire brought clear in my mind the significance of the 1957 Chiefs Task Force Report recommending fire training and fire line qualifications to help prevent accidents such as this. I don’t think I ever really appreciated the groundbreaking significance of the actions that were implemented until I stood at the fatality site on Huer Huero Road. I took them for granted. Secondly, looking back at my pictures, the 19 who survived did so by laying down in the rocky streambed we walked through. The four fatalities occurred on a higher bench, maybe 3-5 feet above the rocky streambed when they were overrun with a large flaming front. What a difference a few feet made.
Spanish Ranch - There is a very close resemblance of this fire to the 1953 Rattlesnake Fire. Same result with a combined total of 19 firefighters killed during the extended attack, when a finger turns 90 degrees influenced by a sudden surfacing westerly wind and overruns firefighters. Walking Sycamore Ridge I was envisioning what the vegetation would have been in 1979. Medium high flashy fuels with record low live fuel moistures. Open line, no anchor, no safety zones, indirect attack.
Jerry Williams, former Smokejumper and US Forest Service Fire Director – As we left the site of the 1979 Spanish Ranch fire, I saw the CALFIRE crew brushing out the monument commemorating the victims. Although most will drive by it not knowing it is there, the crew seemed determined to keep it up. It's a good thing we remember, honor, and learn from these tragedies. But the learning seems confined to the Fire Services.
At Pilitas, firefighters were not instructed on the basics we now know as the Watch Outs and Standard Orders. At Spanish Ranch, firefighters took to the line when shelters were unavailable to them. So, we lean-in on what improvements we -- the Fire Services -- can make.
We focus on terrain features, wind patterns, fuel characteristics, and operational decisions. We don't talk so much about how the land might be managed to pose less danger. Fire-prone landscapes are often left unattended. On the whole, the land is not managed with an eye toward firefighter safety. Land and resource managers nor homeowners visit tragedy sites with the idea of “lessons learned.” Denny O'Neil talked about the institutional difficulties and frustrations of his attempts to reduce fuel hazards and bring homeowners along. Absent mitigation, all that remains is ever-more dangerous firefighting... with diminishing margins of safety falling to the firefighters.