Mendocino National Forest - Wildfires

Wildfires

The infamous Rattlesnake Fire occurred here in 1953. One Forest Service employee and 14 volunteer firefighters perished. The circumstances of the tragedy resulted in major changes in firefighting strategy and training. The firefighters are memorialized at the Rattlesnake Fire Memorial overlooking Rattlesnake Canyon. Access to it can be found off of Forest Highway 7 on County Road 307/Alder Springs Road.

The Trough Fire burned almost 25,000 acres (100 km2) of the Mendocino National Forest in 2001 including land in the Snow Mountain Wilderness.