Pepper Hill Fire of 1938
Grove Township, Cameron County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Seven teenage Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees and a forestry foreman lost their lives attempting to extinguish a 134-acre wildfire here. The crew had insufficient experience and training and were exhausted from fighting a previous fire. The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center incorporated these tragic events into a case study for training fire-fighters nationwide. This ongoing training has saved many lives.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps put young men to work on America's forests and public lands, including fighting wildfires across Pennsylvania's mountainous north. In 1938 a crew of teenage enrollees and their foreman, already worn down from an earlier blaze, were overtaken while battling a fire on these ridges. The loss became a lasting lesson: decades later, wildland fire trainers still study what happened here to keep crews alive.
Why it matters
The tragedy turned private grief into national safety practice, shaping how the country trains the firefighters who protect its forests.
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Related events
- · Pepper Hill Fire of 1938
Themes & tags
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