"Angel Promises...Remembering the Youngest Firefighter, by Katherin B. FitzPatrick

What Was There About This Girl...

That Caused God to Write a Prophetic Message

In The Cloud that Formed Above Her and Three

Other Firefighters Moments After they Died?

JULY 10TH, 2001: THE DAY THAT CHANGED THE
COURSE OF WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING FOREVER

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Talented and athletic, Karen Lee FitzPatrick, 18 years old, was the youngest teen firefighter of the four lost in the controversial, now historic fire episode, “The Thirtymile Fire” of 7-10-01 which occurred in the North Cascade mountains of Washington State. She was an elegant lady, with a love for gourmet cooking and baking on one hand, and a powerful, strong, athletic firefighter on the other. This tragic fire episode shook and shocked the nation and the world that hot July of 2001. More than one federal investigative report declared “They didn’t have to die,” splashing the declaration boldly across the news headlines.

The U.S. Forest service desperately tried to make it look like an ordinary accident, but the evidence revealed that it was anything more than just an accident. So what really happened out there that day?

When the Crew Bosses and the Incident Commanders say that the fire jumped across the river and flash ran up a 1,000 ft. hill at about 10 AM on 7-10-01, and was definitely out of control, why did they not command their crew to all leave? Why was a largely young rookie crew kept there at the scene until 5:30 PM and four firefighters were dead? Was it firefighter pride that prevented the Fire Bosses to not want to leave the fire early? Was it the pride of the Hot Shots who turned down the water from the Okanogan Sheriff who sent a fire crew and truck out to the scene at 12 midnight…but then the Hot Shot crew on duty arrogantly turned down the water stating, “Get that out of here! We don’t need that. We’re Hot Shots. We cut and chop!” An eye witness USFS firefighter at the scene at the time, said that after the fire truck that could have given them a water show over the area, and probably put out the fire, left the scene—the firefighters were ordered to light “control line” all around the area. This is a theory in which firefighters believe they can burn a barrier by which the fire will not cross. But it did not work. The fire scene was in a nature resource area with a lot of brush and kindling, and it only made the fire worse.

After a call on her cell phone at home to report for duty, at 12 midnight, shortly thereafter, firefighter Rookie, Karen Lee FitzPatrick, departed the from the Naches Ranger Station with her crew, “The Northwest Regulars,” on a fire rig to begin a 5 hour drive north to the site in the Chewuch River Canyon, near the Thirtymile Peak in the Methow Valley, WA.

But her fate, and the fate of three others, Devin Weaver, age 21, Tom Craven, age 30, Jessica Johnson, 19, had already been sealed. Unknown to them, the only water they would ever see that day, was turned down at 12 midnight by the hot shot crew on duty.

By the time the largely rookie crew arrived at 9:03 AM, the fire had risen in danger to an “Initial Attack Fire.” Rookie firefighters, working less than 30 days in firefighting were not supposed to be involved in Initial Attack fires…only working on the mopping up of fires, staying on the periphery of the fire with mop up water trucks. But under the direction of U.S. Forest Service Fire Bosses, they went in full force, digging line, and battling the flames. Later, at about 12 noon, when the crew bosses and commander wanted to know where the helicopter water drops were that they ordered up at 2 AM, they were told that water could not potentially be dipped from the Chewuch River because it had “endangered species fish” living it. The dispatcher told the bosses, they had better get permission, and do some serious checking.

The young 21 man fire crew at The Thirtymile fire about noon 7-10-01. The trickster fire lurked beind the trees like a deadly tiger about to pounce. By 5:30 PM, the fire had cut across the road, and trapped the crew. Although there was time to get out, the IC Ellreese Daniels, ordered the crew to stay there, until the "small fire" became an inferno which burned 9,300 acres and killed four young firefighters, including Karen Lee FitzPatrick, age 18 yrs. Photo courtesy of the Weaver Family.

As a result, no water drops happened. When they wanted to know where the fire retardant drops were that day, they were told that it would not be done there because it was a “nature resource area.” Normally, fires are not fought in Nature Resource Areas, but because the fire was thought to be “man caused,” from a campfire that was not completely put out—the firefighters had to go in and fight it. Is there not something wrong with this picture?

Fire is fire...and it kills the same whether it is man caused or lightning caused.

During the course of the day, the Fire bosses, and the Incident Commander involved were responsible for the violation of all 10 Standard Fire Orders, and all 18 “watch outs.” These are considered normal safety precautions. No Fire Boss in charge checked the weather, it was unusually hot and dry, (102 degrees) and no one checked a map of the area, as would have been normal procedure. The road the Fire Bosses thought was a second escape route was actually a dead end road into a box canyon. While the fire authorities spent some 9 hours arguing whether or not to drop water from helicopter over the site due to “endangered species fish” in the river, an originally small blaze from a runaway campfire became a huge firestorm which became a deadly trap for a young 21 man crew that hot July day. About 2:30 PM, Fire Boss, Pete Kampen, grabbed whomever he could nearby, and rushed them into his Forest Service vehicle, a white van. He rushed toward the road outward, speeding toward a safe zone, the only escape route, as the fire, with the personality of a demonic trickster—leapt across the road in front of them, as Pete and his crew did a dramatic dash in the van, bursting through a wall of flames to safety on the other side.

The second van, with Karen, Devin, Tom and Jessica, driven by Incident Commander, Ellreese Daniels, was too slow in following, and turned around. Surrounded by a 250 foot wall of flames (the view can be seen in the book, Angel Promises… “Images from The fire”) they knew they were trapped! IC, Ellreese Daniels, turned the van around looking for a potentially safe place to wait out the situation. He spotted a huge cluster of boulders on the steep side of the canyon, and pulled over. The group of firefighters including Tom, Karen, Jessica and Devin, got out and stepped to the road. “Stay close by!” Elreese said. “This fire will burn around us!’ The four ft. deep Chewuch River was only steps away. “Don’t get into the creek...it could get so hot, it could turn into steam!” The firefighters, and Tom Craven, one of the Naches crew bosses, began to evaluate the situation.

“Can we prepare the area to deploy fire shelters on the sandbar by the river?” Tom Craven asked Ellreese. “No, this fire will burn around us!” Well, the fire did not burn around them.

Sometimes men attempt to play God.

The outcome is never good.

Ellreese said he could hear the sound of a locomotive,
“Chug, chug, choo, choo…” on the wind, but did not heed it.

   This means a crown fire is quickly forming as the fire jumps from tree top to tree top, escalating in speed. Meanwhile, Karen, bearing a huge smile, was taking a picture of herself above her head, as the Fire Bosses continue to assure the crew everything is okay. Tom Craven and his crew, including Karen, Devin, and Jessica, went to go sit on some large boulders by the road while awaiting new commands from IC Ellreese Daniels. Then it happened....A HUGE BLOW UP with the force of an A-bomb! Burning embers began to fall from the sky like rain from hell!

     This was part of the fire crew only moments before the great "blow up" which took place in the Chewuch River Canyon on 7-10-01 . They are hearing, feeling...sensing...something on the wind. Karen is on the far right, holding the camera above her head, taking a picture. The camera did not survive the fire.     Photo by Matt Rutman

In July 2001, this photo of Karen appeared in nearly every print media in the US.

     "When I saw this piece of mail in the basketful of hundreds of letters, I thought it must be from someone who knew Karen. Only people close to her knew about the significance of the single red rose," Karen's mom, Kathie remarked.

    Many have asked, "What do you suppose Karen Lee was thinking at this moment?" She had stated to friends and crew earlier that day, "I'm going to die."
      Completely unknown to anyone, about this time, a woman in Arlington, WA. who did not know Karen, was getting a word from God that Karen Lee FitzPatrick, was approaching what Karen called, "Her appointed time." In the book, "Angel Promises," you can read the entire supernatural story. The Spirit of God moved upon she and her husband to cancel their vacation to Canada, and drive to Yakima, WA., hundreds of miles away. This true story is a real heart stopper! Look for "The White Padded Mailer With the Red Rose on the Side." When I pulled it from basketfulls of mail, after her tragic death, I thought surely it must be someone who knew Karen. The single red rose was her symbol...it was on everything that was hers, even her address labels. Karen looked at it as a rose about to unfurl to reveal her calling in life. This couple had received an amazing word from God about Karen concerning her passing, and tracked me down to tell me about it. The mysterious unsigned letter from this anonymous woman also contained an audio tape with a song. "I sat at the piano and sang the song in the voice of a young girl." The lyrics described how Karen had heard from God the father in her intimate prayer time with Him, that he would be taking her home to heaven soon. This is only one in a series of true life supernatural phenomena stories from "Angel Promises."

Meanwhile, back in Yakima, WA. downtown in the Tower in Kathie FitzPatrick's Real Estate office on the 7th floor, she had been trying to call her daughter Karen on her cell phone. Karen always let her know when she would be returning from the fire. There was no answer. Kathie looked at her watch. It was 5:30 PM.

Flash rewind: 5 PM. Location, the Chewuch River Canyon, Winthrop, WA. North Cascades.

Within moments , Tom, Karen, Jessica, and Devin found themselves in a desperate dash to outrun flames as they clamored and ran upward as fast as they could up the steep hillside with flames licking at their heels. A call rang out from yet another Fire Boss, Thom Taylor, from high above the four, up on the step rock scree.

"Deploy…deploy!” In a flash the four ripped their protective aluminum fire shelters from their Velcro holders on their belts, shook them out, and climbed inside with systematic perfection, one witness described it. USFS firefighter, Jason Emhoff, who had been nearby them, made a quick dive decision to leave his shelter and run to the truck on the road below. To his horror, he soon discovered that he forgot his protective fire gloves. As he sat in the vehicle clasping the steering wheel, he watched in disbelief as the flesh melted off his hands! Jason Emhoff lived, but was badly burned.

     Meanwhile, Karen Lee FitzPatrick, a teenager with a deep walk with God, was heard praying loudly. She was on her knees inside her fire shelter, praying with the other three trapped firefighters. Somehow, instinctively, she knew they weren’t getting out of it. She called out for the salvation of others, and for the safety of those on the road who did live.
     Crew Boss, Thom Taylor, high above on the steep rock scree, put his fire shelter over his head like a tent, and somehow through the heat, and the heavy smoke, began to maneuver his way over the boulders, toward the creek next to the road below. On his way, he caught a glimpse through the heavy smoke below, of four silvery fire shelters grouped together around the boulders. They were quiet now, as they had become silvery shrouds. “They obviously had succumbed to smoke inhalation and breathing products of hot combustion,” he told us later.
    Thom continued, and pushed himself through the extreme heat and smoke, and fell into the Chewuch River, which was like a 4 ft deep creek at that spot by the sandbar. A few other firefighters were there from their group. It had literally become an eye of safety in the tornado force winds which ripped large trees out of the ground and threw them around the forest like flimsy toothpicks. The eight firefighters and two campers on the road, struggled to keep their protective fire shelters around themselves in the 70 mph plus winds created by the two whirling vortexes in the sky above them.

As USFS Firefighter, Matt Rutman, struggled to stay alive, he screamed out to the whirling, whipping, dark force hovering above them, “It’s not my time to die!” Somehow the angels listened.
Meanwhile, Thom Taylor peeked up from under his fire shelter, still covering his head like a tent. He peered up on the steep rock scree to see what was going on with Karen, Tom, Devin and Jessica.

Then he saw it.

      A fireball, as if out of hell, rolled around the forest like a hook, burning the one half of the trees, and hitting the rock scree where the four were, like a torpedo, rolling over them like a fireball, looking like a three pronged claw out of hell. Within ten minutes it was all over. All was quiet. The fire bosses began to take inventory...who was alive...who was dead?
     But wait, that was not all that was happening. As Karen knelt and prayed only minutes earlier with her other three firefighter friends, then succumbed with them to smoke inhalation, and breathing hot 2000 degree air about 5:30 PM…a miracle began to take place. But not the one you would expect.
    Well documented with photos and video, a smoke cloud began to rise from the ground to the sky over the four lost firefighters...

"Fire on a small mountain." At 5:30 PM, a cloud from the fire began to rise over the site where the four firefighters died...billowing toward the bright blue Summer sky. These photos were taken by the pilot of the USFS smokejumper plane which was flying over the site at the time. The cloud took full formation at 6 PM, in exactly thirty minutes.

"Fire on a small mountain," at about 5:30 PM, the site of the Thirtymile burnover which took the lives of four outstanding young firefighters. Karen Lee FitzPatrick, died on her knees praying with her three firefighter colleagues, Devin, Jessica and Tom. Jason Emhoff, who escaped the fire with extreme burns on his hands, as he dashed to his truck, said "I will never forget hearing Karen pray!" As she cried out for the salvation of others, and the safety of those on the road with her last breaths before sucuuming to smoke inhalation, and breathing productions of hot combustion, a miracle began to occur...a prophetic sign. Miraculously, smoke began to rise from the ground to the sky over the site where the four young firefighters perished.

    Smoke rising from the ground to the sky, about 5:35 PM. The Pilot of the smokejumper plane realized from the view below there must have been a tragic blow up...he was right.

   Far above, both still photos and video were being taken by the pilot of the smokejumper plane. The Pilot could only imagine what had just happened below.


   The smoke rose from the ground to the sky...over the four firefighters far below creating a pure white cloud with specfic images in it. What could this mean?

   Against a dark blue summer sky, a white cloud begain to take shape, with a message from God. Here is the beginning of the shape of the first galloping horse, at about 5:40 PM. So, how does gray smoke from a fatal forest fire become a pure white cloud with prophetic images in it for all the world to see? It's supernatural, that's all that can be said about it...and that it was the hand of God writing!
   The first phenomena was the apparent four steps at the top of the cloud, representing the four young firefighters who has just passed. Because of this, The Thirtymile Fire cloud photo came to be known as "The Stairway to Heaven" photo. The magical moment was captured by local Winthrop photographer, Sandor Feher. A close up of the 4 steps in the cloud is featured on the color brochure created by the US Forest Service, as a handout to those who visit the site, now a national monument, in Winthrop, WA.

   But wait... there is more! Pulling out to study the entire cloud, we see four white galloping horses! The steps at the top of the cloud seem to mount to the back of the first horse! The outline of the first horse is apparent, and as one in front seems to look straight on, it reveals that multiple horses are perfectly aligned side by side with the tips of their noses showing on the far right.

LAST MOMENTS...On the ground far below, where the firefighters lay in their silvery shelters.--Photo by Matt Rutman, USFS

   Here is the slide with the black outline of the four horses, for those who have trouble seeing it.
What was the meaning of this amazing sign? The clues to this are in the book "Angel Promises," and in the book of Revelation from the bible, revolving around and amazing promises of God for those who are his! Karen Lee had a close walk with God, and he certainly was not sleeping on that day! Oh how he sees things from such an eternal purposes standpoint! He speaks...but are we listening? Karen, who belonged to high school student bible study, J.IV.E (Jesus is very important in everything), often challenged her fellow students who called themselves Christians. "Are you reading your bible? Are you the kind of Christian Jesus will recognize when he shows up?" Yes, there are some things worse than dying...like dying and not being ready for heaven. But she was ready, and she seemed to know it was her "Appointed time." There is a certain kind of joy in knowing that. In "Angel Promises" you read her words...feel her heart... and somehow you get thing feeling that she was getting ready to walk through an open door to eternity at any moment.

    To visit the historic "Thirtymile Fire" site, take Hwy 20, above Leavenworth, WA. When arriving in Winthrop, take Hwy 20 straight through town. Look for the US Forest Service Visitor's Center on the left. Directly across the street, is West Chewuch River Canyon Rd. Start there, take that road approximately thirty miles to the site, which is on the left.
    Every year, the site receives many visitors, especially on July 10th. On July 10th, 2011, a special 10 year commemoration will be held at the site, and an unveiling of yet another monument. It has been estimated that there have been more monuments constructed to remember the four young firefighters lost in theThirtymile Fire, than any one fire episode, anywhere, of all time.

   Then the fire blew up, and all hell broke loose! Karen and her crew found themselves dashing upwards, over the boulders on a rock scree to escape the flames behind them. The call came out from one of the Fire bosses, high above them, "Deploy..deploy!" This meant to rip fire the aluminum fire shelters on their belts off, and shake them out, and get in as soon as possible!" Amid extreme chaos, hurricane force winds, screams, flames, and two sideways whirling tornandos, pulling large trees out and tossing them around like toothpicks, Karen knelt and prayed inside her silvery fire shelter. She was heard by witnesses at the site, praying loudly. She knew they weren't getting out of it, but readied herself to face eternity. Later, the coroner at the site, found her that way...on her knees. This is the momument which marks the spot where she prayed for the firefighters at the Thirtymile Fire Site.


   This is the bronze bust monument of Karen Lee FitzPatrick, 18, the youngest firefighter lost in the Thirtymile Fire.
   It is one of four, representing each one of them lost, mounted on natural basalt pillars as part of a firefighter memory garden in front of the Naches Ranger District, highway 12, Naches, WA., where the four based out of. The Naches Ranger Station is easily found on highway 12, in the central part of the small town of Naches, WA. Inside, one can receive information on campsites, and state and national parks, and visit a gift shop. There is also a firefighter memory room with pictures, displays, and much information on the story and the four lost firefighters. Outside in front is an outstanding memory garden, bench and pathways to observe the monuments and bronze artwork done to remember the lost firefighters.

The National Monument of The Thirtymile Fire, located in Winthrop, WA.

Remembering firefighters Karen Lee FitzPatrick, 18, Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Tom Craven, 30, USFS.