Battlement Creek Fire and Plane Crash 1976 - Parachute, CO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Outspoken1
N 39° 27.337 W 108° 03.006
12S E 753812 N 4371493
Douglas A-26B tanker crashed while turning to dump slurry on the 1976 Battlement Creek Fire
Waymark Code: WMA03X
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 10/24/2010
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Corp Of Discovery
Views: 6

"The Battlement Creek Fire of 1976 was located on Bureau of Land Management lands just outside of Grand Valley, (now Parachute), Colorado on Morrisania Mesa. Battlement Creek is approximately 8 miles long and flows in a northwesterly direction to the Colorado River. The fire burned the east side of Battlement Creek. Elevations on the fire range from 6,200 feet to 8,400. Slope percentage varies from 10 percent above County Road 302 (Battlement Road) to 75 percent in the chute just below the ridgeline.

A severe frost occurred a month earlier in this same location which killed a high percentage of the leaves on the Gambel's oak. The fire started on July 11th from a lighting storm that went through the area. On July 15th it escaped containment and a Class II Overhead Team (now known as Type 2 Incident Management Teams) was ordered. On July 15th, there were 198 fires reported on the daily Situation Report from the Boise Interagency Fire Center (now known as NIFC, the National Interagency Fire Center). The majority of the fires were in California, Nevada and Utah. During this fire the Forest Service was working with the Bureau of Land Management to establish a national plan to exchange and utilize manpower and equipment.

The Grand Junction District of the Bureau of Land Management was responsible for suppression of the fire. Approximately 13 crews totaling 270 people and approximately 20 overhead were assigned to the fire.

On Friday July 16th a B-26 air tanker crashed on a retardant dropping mission on the Battlement Creek Fire. The accident occurred at 0856 hrs, approximately 1 mile south of the fire. The pilot was killed.

On Saturday July 17th, three firefighters were killed and a fourth severely burned during a burn-over while working on the Battlement Creek Fire. All victims were members of the Mormon Lake Hotshot Crew, a trained 20 person Forest Service fire crew stationed on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona.

The Battlement Creek Fire resulted in some substantial changes in federal wildland fire management. This incident was the catalyst for the mandatory use of fire shelters and fire resistant clothing. It also demonstrated the need for closer interagency coordination between federal, state, and local wildland fire agencies." (from (visit link)

There is a flag on private land at the location of the plane crash. The flag is visible from County Road 302 and may be photographed. The road is not a 4-wheel drive road. The coordinates for a photo of the flag at the plane crash site are N39° 24.851, W107° 57.283.
Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link]

Date of Crash: 07/16/1976

Aircraft Model: Douglas A-26B

Military or Civilian: Civilian

Tail Number: N5426E

Cause of Crash:
PILOT FAILED TO FOLLOW APPROVED PROCEDURES,DIRECTIVES,ETC. MISJUDGED ALTITUDE AND CLEARANCE FACTOR(S). From NTSB Identification: DEN76AD058


Visit Instructions:
Only log waymarks if you have visited the site personally.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Plane Crash Sites
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
LLYN-lhvwn50 visited Battlement Creek Fire and Plane Crash 1976 - Parachute, CO 09/13/2020 LLYN-lhvwn50 visited it
MD&EB visited Battlement Creek Fire and Plane Crash 1976 - Parachute, CO 10/26/2014 MD&EB visited it
MesaScott visited Battlement Creek Fire and Plane Crash 1976 - Parachute, CO 10/16/2010 MesaScott visited it

View all visits/logs