1933 Griffith Park fire: Difference between revisions

| image =Workers fighting a fire in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, 1933.jpg

| caption =Workers fighting the fire atop a hill in the park

| injuries = 150+<ref name="npr">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10096350 |title=Griffith Park Fire Stirs Visions of 1933 Destruction |work=[[NPR]] |date=2007-05-09 |accessdateaccess-date=2018-03-06}}</ref>

| date = {{Unbulleted list|{{Start date|1933|10|03}} – ?|{{End date|1933|10|04}}|({{duration in days|1933|10|03|1933|10|04}} days)}}

| area = {{Convert|47|acre|km2ha|0}}

The '''1933 Griffith Park Fire''' was a [[Wildfire|brush fire]] that occurred on 3 October 3, 1933, in [[Griffith Park]] in [[Los Angeles]], resulting in the deaths of at least 29 civilians who were trying to fight the fire. It was one of the [[List of the deadliest firefighter disasters in the United States|deadliest firefighter disasters in United States history]].

During the dry summer and fall of 1933, thousands of workers financed by the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]] were hired to clear dry brush and to build trails and roads in Griffith Park.<ref name="lafire"/><ref name="latimes1">{{cite news |url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/2013local/jullanow/la-xpm-2013-jul-01/local/-la-me-ln-griffith-fire-20130701-story.html |title=29 L.A. firefighters lost in 1933 in Griffith Park blaze |last=Dolan |first=Jack |date=July 1, 2013 |work=Los Angeles Times |accessdateaccess-date=August 27, 2014}}</ref> On October 3, 1933, an estimated 3,780 men were working in the park, for a pay of 40 cents anper hour.<ref name="lafire"/><ref name="washingtonpost">{{cite webnews |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/12/15/oh-god-help-me-in-californias-deadliest-fire-survivors-watched-co-workers-die |title='Oh God! Help me!': In California's deadliest fire, survivors watched co-workers die |author=Vargas, Theresa |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2017-12-15 |accessdateaccess-date=2018-03-06}}</ref> More than 100 squads of 50 to 80 men were at work in the park, each supervised by a foreman or "[[wikt:straw boss|straw boss]]".<ref name="lafire"/>

A little after 2 :00&nbsp;p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PDT]], a small fire started in a pile of debris in Mineral Wells Canyon. Many of the workers volunteered or were ordered to fight the fire, but it spread up the canyon. Because there was no piped water in the area, the men tried to beat out the fire with shovels.<ref name="lafire"/> Foremen with no knowledge of firefighting initially directed the effort, setting inappropriate [[FirefightingControlled_burn|back fire]]s<!-- Definition found at end of this web article: http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire.htm --> and sending hundreds of workers into a steep canyon. The fire department arrived at 2:26&nbsp;p.m. but found it hard to fight the fire because of the presence of thousands of untrained people.<ref name="lafire">{{cite web |url=http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire/1933-1003_GriffithParkFire.htm|title=The Griffith Park Fire|work=Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive|accessdateaccess-date=August 27, 2014}}</ref> When the wind changed direction at about 3 :00&nbsp;p.m., the fire rushed up [[Dam Canyon]]<!-- unknown location, 2018-03-06 -->, jumped a hastily constructed [[firebreak]], and advanced on the workers, killing dozens and injuring more than 100.<ref name="lafire"/> By nightfall the fire was under control, after burning about {{convert|47|acre|ha}} of the park's 4,200 acres{{convert|4200|acre|ha|abbr=out}}.<ref name="lafire"/><ref name="npr"/>

Because of the disorganized nature of the deployment and the often inaccurate recordkeeping of the work project, it took weeks to establish the exact death toll and identify the bodies. A month after the fire, the [[Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office|DistrictLos Attorney]]Angeles County district attorney's office]] put the official death toll at 29, with 27 dead at the scene and two dead in hospitals afterwards, although other groups claimed the number was 52 or higher.<ref name="lafire"/><ref name="washingtonpost"/> The Griffith Park fire remained the single -deadliest firewildfire in California history for 85 years until being tiedsurpassed by the [[Camp Fire (2018)|Camp Fire]] in 2018., Thewhich [[Octoberkilled 201785 Northernpeople.<ref Californianame="Camp wildfires]]Fire were collectively more deadly.<ref>https://calfire.ca.gov/communications/downloads/fact_sheets/Top20_Deadliest.pdf</ref><refinfo">{{cite newsweb |title=Camp Fire Incident Information |url=http://englishwww.glendale.ccfire.ca.usgov/fire_of_'331.htmlcurrent_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2277 |titlepublisher=TheCalFire Fire of '33|work=Glendale Newsaccess-Press|date=22 OctoberNovember 1–4,2018 1993|accessdatearchive-date=May7 8,December 2007}}</ref> The cause of the fire was never fully determined.<ref name="deadliest_ca_fires">{{cite web2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207134414/http://calfirewww.fire.ca.gov/communicationscurrent_incidents/downloadsincidentdetails/fact_sheetsIndex/Top20_Deadliest.pdf2277 |title=Top 20 Deadliest California Fires |accessdate=2018url-03-06 |datestatus=2017-11-29dead |work=[[CAL FIRE]]}}</ref>

[[Category:1933 in CaliforniaLos Angeles]]

[[Category:19331930s wildfires]]