Since 1851, Grizzly Flats has existed in the Californian foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
For many years, the region’s economy was based mostly on lumber.
But one night in August, the Caldor Fire, which had erupted from the Eldorado National Forest, consumed most of the town in only 15 minutes.
The cost to put out the fire, which burned for two months and scorched more than 200,000 acres, was $271 million.
On August 14, 2021, around 7 o’clock in the evening, a little column of smoke appeared four miles south of Grizzly Flats. The U.S. Forest Service was in command and in charge of bringing in firefighters and supplies since the fire was on federal property. An examination by 60 Minutes revealed that issues began almost immediately: maps were outdated, and firemen had difficulties finding the fire. Candace Tyler, a local, said her heart dropped as she listened to her police scanner.
“They are being transported up Caldor Road. Having said so, after three years of washing, Tyler informed Bill Whitaker, a reporter. “How will you get a tanker there? Do you recognize the washout? It’s big. It would need a month of Sundays to repair the damage or pave a new route.”
A key component of the Forest Service’s mission is to preserve the health of national forests, particularly their roads. However, 60 Minutes discovered that many of the Eldorado Forest’s routes were unusable, obstructed by fallen trees and wide ruts.
Fire engines had to turn around when the Caldor Fire started, incurring a costly two-hour delay.
Grant Ingram, a retired fire captain, was likewise focusing on his scanner. For 35 years, Ingram battled fires for BOTH the U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire, the state fire department of California. For the local fire district, Ingram looked into how the fire started out, and he told us that the U.S. Forest Service management team is mostly to blame.
Ingram complained to Whitaker that “the leadership failed to provide the crew on the ground with what they needed to do to put that fire out in a timely way.”
You state unequivocally that poor leadership is to blame. Whitaker enquired.
Absolutely, said Ingram. “They were unable to predict where the fire would spread. Then, when it came time to put out that fire, they didn’t bring in enough tools and supplies.
And when they saw it was going that way, they did nothing to save the Grizzly Flats neighborhood.”
One of the most important choices, according to Ingram, was made early on August 15 when the fire was still minor. Only a few hours into the fire, at 1:43 in the morning, the Forest Service ended nighttime efforts.
The dispatch log, a minute-by-minute description of the incident that 60 Minutes acquired via a Freedom of Information Act request, states that “Will be removing everyone off the line for accountability.” The Forest Service deemed it hazardous to proceed and requested a reevaluation.
“We usually battled fires at night when I worked for other organizations. The ideal moment to do it was then,” Whitaker was instructed by Ingram.
Whitaker said that the incident commander from the Forest Service had been telling people to halt. “Go home, turn around.”
“Right. At first, I couldn’t believe it “It was Ingram. “Although battling fires is risky, firefighters don’t call 9-1-1 in an emergency. You are the 9-1-1 caller.”
State and municipal firemen who had rushed in to assist the Forest Service didn’t like the order to withdraw.
Many of them told 60 Minutes that they thought their greatest shot to put out the fire was that night. In addition, they claimed that they had received training for nonstop wildfire suppression.
Because nobody wanted to risk losing their employment by appearing on camera, 60 Minutes decided to keep this firefighter’s name a secret.
What did you think when you heard the incident commander declare that he was leaving and taking additional equipment, fire engines, and bulldozers with him? Whitaker enquired of the fireman.
“What on earth is happening here? Seriously, what the hell? There is a fire. The fire must be put out. It’s really that easy, “added the fireman. Everyone gathered on that hill that night likely believed we would run into difficulties if we didn’t get ahead of the situation.
The Forest Service also recognized it. Their own fire model for August 15 indicated Grizzly Flats in the midst of the region were nearly likely to burn, with an 80–100% risk, if the fire wasn’t put out, according to information acquired via the Freedom of Information Act.
However, the same day, the Forest Service let most of the state’s Cal Fire engines and staff depart before their replacements showed there. According to Ingram, this violates every firefighting regulation.
“I couldn’t understand it. Additionally, that shouldn’t have occurred. “It was Ingram.
The fire consumed 200 acres on the second day, August 15. 700 acres on August 16. That evening, the canyon’s winds drove the flames into a frenzy, causing Caldor to burst and burn across 11,000 acres.
As they gained momentum, the flames soared from treetop to treetop. The Eldorado National Forest seemed like a pyre waiting for a match because it was so thick with dead trees and dried-out underbrush.
“Everything is now ablaze. Everything is pouring down on this neighborhood,” Instagram narrated. It was positioned in front of a blowtorch, he informed Whitaker.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, resources were few. Nearby, the fiercely raging Dixie Fire, which would grow to be the second-largest fire in California history, was blazing. However, Ingram told 60 Minutes that there were local personnel on hand. As the flames tore through Grizzly Flats, he pointed to the dispatch record, which indicated that 12 more fire engines had been sent. It was too late, however.
“Ingram said, “All of a sudden, there are all these fire trucks turning up, and I’m wondering, where were they two days ago? Why hadn’t they arrived in the Grizzly Flats area before the fire had started?”
Ingram said, “The Forest Service won’t respond to our inquiries.
Retired Sacramento Deputy Fire Chief Lloyd Ogan informed Whitaker that the flames were 30 feet over the trees that night in the Leoni Meadows campground, several miles south of Grizzly Flats, hissing and crackling. Ogan said he was aware that the Caldor Fire was out of control at the time.
“Why would any resources be released on a fire that is in an area with a high danger location?” is what I find difficult to understand. I haven’t yet come across what I would consider an appropriate response to that query. That query has not yet received a response, “said Ogan.
A sliver of green amid a scorched, dismal landscape, Leoni Meadows stands out among the debris of Caldor. Thanks to a sizable fuel break—or buffer zone—the camp had constructed, the fire skirted the area around it. Ogan highlighted the areas where they have pruned the trees and removed the flammable underbrush. There wasn’t much stuff left to feed Caldor when it struck. The fire slowed down and shifted course.
The undeveloped acreage close to the camp was shown to 60 Minutes by Ogan. Everything there caught fire.
“On the side of the Forest Service, there was no management. That is the outcome,” said Ogan.
“Seeing all that destruction and the fact that it continues to the camp’s property border, where the land was controlled, is sort of mind-blowing. Everything is green,” Whitaker said. Could this have happened elsewhere in Grizzly Flats?
“Yes. Absolutely,” Ogan answered. “The Trestle Project’s main goal was to carry out this precise task. And there’s a good chance Grizzly Flats wouldn’t have burned if it had been done.”
The Forest Service started the Trestle Project nine years ago after discovering through its own studies that Grizzly Flats may burn to the ground if a wildfire broke out in the dense Eldorado Forest.
Thousands of acres will be cleaned up, beginning with 970 acres on the town’s southeast side where the fire would probably start first, according to the agency’s pledge.
Only a small portion of the work had been finished over ten years later. Grizzly Flats was completely destroyed by the Caldor Fire, as the Forest Service had feared.
Not only residents have made an effort to contact the Forest Service for clarification. 60 Minutes repeatedly contacted the federal agency to get records, a response, and an explanation of what transpired in Grizzly Flats from the taxpayer-funded service.
The Forest Service informed us through email last week that it has started a 10-year plan and would significantly expand the scope of forest health initiatives like the Trestle Project, beginning with towns that are now in danger.
The inhabitants of Grizzly Flats, who told 60 Minutes that whatever confidence they had in the Forest Service has been destroyed, find little consolation in the 10-year plan.
“Candace Tyler, a local, said, “How can you put out a 40-acre fire in a canyon?” Do not misunderstand; I have lived here all my life. You’re still telling me that you lack the skills and tools necessary to put out the fire despite the fact that I am aware that it is a dangerously steep canyon? They took no action. They did nothing, in our perspective, to put out this fire.”
One of three destructive fires in the area that began on federal property and burnt more than a million acres last year was called Caldor.