# Loop Fire > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Loop_Fire > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Loop_Fire.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_Fire > Source revision: 1336438316 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1966 wildfire in Southern California This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. See our advice if the article is about you and read our scam warning in case someone asks for money to edit this article. (September 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Loop Fire" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Loop Fire Map of the footprint of the Loop Fire Date(s) November 1, 1966 (1966-11-01) – Location Los Angeles County, Southern California, United States Impacts Deaths 12 Ignition Cause Faulty electrical line The **Loop Fire** was a [wildfire](/source/Wildfire) in [Angeles National Forest](/source/Angeles_National_Forest), above [Sylmar, California](/source/Sylmar%2C_California).[1] The El Cariso [Interagency Hotshot Crew](/source/Hotshot_crew) was constructing [fireline](/source/Firebreak) downhill into a [chimney canyon](/source/Slot_canyon) and was within 200 feet of completing their assignment when a sudden shift of winds caused a [spot fire](/source/Spot_fire) directly below where they were working. Within seconds flames raced uphill, engulfing the firefighters in temperatures estimated to reach 2500 degrees. The fire flashed through the 2,200 foot long chimney canyon in less than one minute, catching the crew while they attempted to reach their safety zones. Ten members of the crew died on the Loop Fire that day. Another two members died from burn injuries in the following days.[1] Most of the 19 El Cariso crew members who survived were critically burned and remained hospitalized for some time. The Downhill Indirect Line Construction Checklist, which improved firefighting equipment and better fire behavior training, resulted in part, from lives lost on this fire. ## Background This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) On November 1, 1966, the El Cariso Hotshots, a U.S. Forest Service Interregional wildland firefighting [hotshot crew](/source/Hotshot_crew), was trapped by flames as they worked on a steep hillside in Pacoima Canyon on the [Angeles National Forest](/source/Angeles_National_Forest). An unanticipated upslope wind came up in the afternoon and a spot fire was fanned and funneled up the steep canyon. ## Fire origin This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Loop Fire started at 05:19 on November 1, 1966, from a faulty electrical line at the U.S. Army's Los Pinetos Nike Missile Site. This facility is approximately 1 mile north of Contract Point. The fire burned downhill in a southwesterly direction under the influence of 40 to 60 mile per hour [Santa Ana winds](/source/Santa_Ana_winds).[1] Contract Point was a key anchor point on this east flank of the fire, which was designated as Division A. Suppression efforts in Division A on the morning of November 1 were focused on protecting the missile facility and establishing a control line south from that facility toward Contract Point. ## Incident This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message) By mid-day the north flank of the fire had been contained along the Santa Clara Fuelbreak up to Contract Point. With the exception of a few minor slop-overs, the east flank of the fire was holding along the ridge to a point 40 chains south of Contract Point (Stand 3). The Chilao Hotshot Crew, two Los Angeles County crews, and several [engines](/source/Wildland_fire_engine) were working a large slop-over near Contract Point. At 12:00 the Dalton Hotshot Crew on-scene at Contract Point and were assigned by Division Boss William Westmoreland to build direct handline south from the Chilao crew along this east flank of the fire. At about 13:00 the Del Rosa Hotshot Crew arrived and Westmoreland directed them to work down the ridge ahead of the Dalton Crew. At 14:30 the El Cariso Hotshot Crew arrived on-scene. Line Boss Hugh Masterson briefed El Cariso Superintendent Gordon King. Masterson's instructions were to "leap-frog the Del Rosa crew and to cold-trail the fire edge if possible". He also mentioned that "the main ridge could be used as an alternate if impossible to follow the burned edge." El Cariso Superintendent King led his crew to a small bench below this south point of the ridge and held them there until he could determine if it was possible to cold-trail the fire edge all the way down. King could see the Los Angeles County dozers and crews working the lower edge of the fire and believed he could tie in with them. At about 14:45 Line Boss Masterson requested Division Boss Westmoreland to go down the east flank and make sure the crews were lined out. Westmoreland had a radio and several of the crews did not have radios, including the El Cariso Hotshots. By the time Westmoreland reached the tail end of the El Cariso crew, King had led the first units of his crew well down into the steep rocky chimney staying directly on the fire edge. As a result, King never had a radio exchange or face-to-face meeting with Westmoreland, who was his Division Boss. By about 15:30, the El Cariso Hotshots were fully committed, cold-trailing their way down through the steep rocky chimney canyon with Superintendent King and the lead elements of the crew just starting to approach this point. Division Boss Westmoreland had followed them about halfway down and observed minimal fire activity, but he also stated that it was not a clean burn. At about this same time line construction by the Los Angeles County dozer and crews, that were working west along the bottom of the slope, was halted by a deep gully. This gully was adjacent to and just below the chimney canyon that the El Cariso crew was working down. There was no radio communication capability between the two groups, but they did have visual contact. Independently, both were trying to figure out how best to tie in the line. At this point, there was no more than 500 feet separating them. Several individuals, who were working at the bottom of the fire, stated that the fire behavior was in a static situation with hot spots near the bottom of the gully and that there were favorable southeast winds. In addition, a helicopter was making water drops on the hotspots. According to these same observers, sometime between 15:35 and 15:45 the fire started to cross the bottom of the gully. Within the next 5 to 10 minutes the fire crossed the gully, made a run upslope to the bottom of the chimney, and then flashed very quickly up the length of the chimney. The steep rocky terrain made it very difficult for firefighters to move toward the previously burned area. Terrain conditions combined with the rapid fire spread resulted in all members of the El Cariso Hotshot Crew being burned over as they worked from this stand location and up several hundred yards in the chimney above. ## Gallery - Placard at El Cariso Regional Park installed in 1996. - Firefighters attending the 50th anniversary event - Family members attending the 50th anniversary event - Official US Forest Service Loop fire tragedy report - 1966 El Cariso Hotshots Crew 1 - October 1966 - 1966 El Cariso Hotshots Crew 2 - October 1966 - Newspaper article featuring Loop Fire survivors Ed Cosgrove and Jerry Smith - Marker at the fatality site. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-anf_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-anf_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-anf_1-2) ["12 Firefighters Killed in 1966 Blaze Remembered"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-02-me-60413-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. November 2, 1996. Retrieved February 3, 2026. ## External links v t e Deadliest California wildfires Camp (2018) (85 deaths) Griffith Park (1933) (29 deaths) Oakland firestorm of 1991 (1991) (25 deaths) Tubbs (2017) (22 deaths) Eaton (2025) (19 deaths) North Complex (2020) (16 deaths) Cedar (2003) (15 deaths) Rattlesnake (1953) (15 deaths) Loop (1966) (12 deaths) Palisades (2025) (12 deaths) Hauser Creek (1943) (11 deaths) Inaja (1956) (11 deaths) Iron Alps Complex (2008) (10 deaths) Redwood Valley (2017) (9 deaths) Harris (2007) (8 deaths) Canyon (1968) (8 deaths) Carr (2018) (8 deaths) LNU Complex (2020) (6 deaths) Atlas (2017) (6 deaths) Old (2003) (6 deaths) Decker (1959) (6 deaths) Hacienda (1955) (6 deaths) This list reflects information from this PDF v t e California wildfires Pre-2007 Santiago Canyon (1889) Berkeley (1923) Matilija (1932) Griffith Park (1933) Rattlesnake (1953) Harlow (1961) Bel Air (1961) Loop (1966) Laguna (1970) Clampitt (1970) Marble Cone (1977) Agoura-Malibu (1978) Panorama (1980) 49er (1988) Painted Cave (1990) Tunnel (1991) Fountain (1992) Cleveland (1992) Kinneloa (1993) Laguna (1993) Mount Vision (1995) Pendola (1999) Jones (1999) Storrie (2000) Poe (2001) Wolf (2002) Copper (2002) Biscuit (2002) McNally (2002) Curve (2002) Williams (2002) Old (2003) Simi (2003) Cedar (2003) Power (2004) Rumsey (2004) Topanga (2005) Sawtooth Complex (2006) Day (2006) Esperanza (2006) 2007 Island Angora Zaca Moonlight October 2007 wildfires Buckweed Harris Witch Santiago Rice Corral 2008 Summit Indians Basin Complex Klamath Theater Complex Gap Telegraph Sesnon Tea Sayre Freeway Complex 2009 Jesusita La Brea Lockheed Station Guiberson 2010 Bull West Crown 2011 Lion Comanche Complex 2012 Reading Chips Barry Point Rush Ponderosa 2013 Summit Springs Powerhouse Mountain Silver Rim Clover 2014 Colby Etiwanda May 2014 San Diego County wildfires Tomahawk Poinsettia Cocos Shirley Butts Bully Happy Camp Complex Meadow King Boles 2015 Round Lake North Wragg Rocky Mad River Complex Humboldt Complex Frog Rough Jerusalem Cuesta Butte Valley Tassajara 2016 Sherpa Border San Gabriel Complex Erskine Trailhead Sand Soberanes Cold Pilot Chimney Clayton Blue Cut Rey Bogart Canyon Loma 2017 Gate Holcomb Schaeffer Salmon August Complex Manzanita Winters Alamo Wall Whittier Garza Detwiler Empire Parker 2 Young Pier Railroad Ponderosa Mud Slinkard Helena La Tuna Palmer Mission October 2017 Northern California wildfires Atlas Tubbs Canyon 2 December 2017 Southern California wildfires Thomas Creek Rye Skirball Lilac 2018 Lions Lane Pawnee Waverly County Klamathon Valley Georges Ferguson Natchez Carr Cranston Mendocino Complex Whaleback Donnell Holy Hirz Delta Camp Woolsey 2019 Sand West Butte Tucker Mountain Tenaja Walker Taboose Lime Red Bank South Lone Sandalwood Saddleridge Nustar Kincade Tick Getty Easy Maria 2020 Quail Grant Crews Soledad Mineral 2020 Lassen County wildfires Gold Loyalton Red Salmon Complex Apple August 2020 lightning wildfires Lake Dome River CZU Lightning Complex SCU Lightning Complex August Complex LNU Lightning Complex North Complex SQF Complex Dolan Creek El Dorado Bobcat Slater/Devil Oak Glass Zogg Silverado Mountain View Bond 2021 Palisades Willow Lava Tennant Salt Beckwourth Complex Tamarack Dixie McFarland Monument River Complex McCash Antelope River Caldor French KNP Complex Windy Fawn 2022 Colorado Electra Washburn Oak McKinney Red Route Border 32 Mill Fairview Mosquito SRF Lightning Complex 2023 Rabbit Deep Pika York 2024 Corral Lake Post Point Thompson SQF Lightning Complex Borel Basin Park Nixon Pedro Boise Coffee Pot Line Bridge Airport Horseshoe Mountain Franklin 2025 January 2025 Southern California wildfires Palisades Eaton Madre Orleans Complex Gifford Canyon Pickett Little TCU September Pack 2026 Sandy Fire Santa Rosa Island Fire Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Loop Fire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_Fire) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_Fire?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.