CARSON CITY, Nev. – Thanks to local firefighters, an American flag now draws the eye to a once easily passed-over monument on Highway 50 near Spooner Summit. Nevada engraved on its side, the square pillar stands in an eastbound pullout above the now-forested landscape and the Carson Valley beyond.
100 years ago, the view was quite different.
Winds were fueling a fire up and down landscape canyons. The Clear Creek-Kings Canyon Fire had started early the morning of Sept. 28, 1926, at the base of the canyon near Carson City.
One group of firefighters and volunteers moved into position to protect Carson City. Another headed up the hill to keep the blaze from reaching Lake Tahoe near what is now Highway 50.
That afternoon, the fire encircled that upper group of firefighters when a sudden wind shift through the hillside drainages sent it on an abrupt run.
With the fire cutting off the escape route, the firefighters were trapped.
A headline appearing in a Carson City newspaper two days later reads, “Bodies of Fire Victims Close Together.”
Three were killed outright, and two were hospitalized with serious burns and died a few days later.
Erected in 1990, the monument lists George Brown, J.E. Mitchell, Arthur Sunday, and Bryant Whitmore.
“It is important not to forget these men that sacrificed their lives to protect life, property and our natural resources in our area,” Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Matt Fogarty said. “We cannot forget them, or what happened to them.”
Members of the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Zephyr Fire Crew place the hardhats at the memorial each year to signify the lives lost. This summer, they added the hand-painted flag to help draw attention to the stone monument, now partially blocked after the installation of road barriers.
This marks the 15th year the Zephyr Fire Crew has maintained the memorial.
“There is pride in maintaining it and,” Fogarty said, “honoring those fallen firefighters.”
The fire 100 years ago burned around 8,000 acres west of Carson City, but for the most part spared Carson City.
“A century ago, wildland firefighting looked very different,” Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Fire Inspector Michelle Turner said. “There were no modern engines, protective clothing, radios, helicopters, or escape shelters. Firefighters relied on hand tools, determination and one another.”
Whitmore exemplified this when, according to a statement from the Nevada Governor at the time, he turned back after reaching safety to help Sunday, who was still trapped. They were the two hospitalized.
Although equipment has advanced, looking back at the fire’s behavior on Sept. 28, 100 years ago, Fogarty said, “We are faced with the same situations today.”
Families of the fallen firefighters gathered shortly after the 100-year anniversary for a ceremony honoring them in Carson City at the Nevada Fallen Firefighter Memorial on Oct. 2. The following day, they visited grave sites and the highway memorial, arriving to flags, banners and five silver hardhats.
