Bill Text: CA ACR162 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: CDF Firefighter John D. Guthrie Memorial Highway.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 160, Statutes of 2014. [ACR162 Detail]
Download: California-2013-ACR162-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: ACR 162 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 160
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 22, 2014
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 3, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Medina
JUNE 17, 2014
Relative to the CDF Firefighter John D. Guthrie Memorial Highway.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 162, Medina. CDF Firefighter John D. Guthrie Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway
Route 215 as the "CDF Firefighter John D. Guthrie Memorial Highway."
WHEREAS, As a young man growing up in Perris, California, John
Guthrie often volunteered to help the older men fight fires in the
rural community and always wanted to be a firefighter; and
WHEREAS, After two years of service in the Navy, Guthrie returned
home and signed on with the United States Forest Service as a
firefighter, and, in 1954, was stationed at the El Cariso fire
station; and
WHEREAS, In 1955, Guthrie was hired by the California Division of
Forestry and began working at the Lake Elsinore Station; and
WHEREAS, On August 8, 1959, two teenagers driving down the curvy
highway toward Lake Elsinore lost control of their truck and it flew
off of the roadway and down a 200-foot embankment, sparking an
inferno that became known as the Decker Canyon Fire; and
WHEREAS, More than 500 California Division of Forestry, United
States Forest Service, local, and volunteer firefighters were called
to fight the Decker Canyon Fire, which swept out of the hills and
forced the evacuation of Lakeland Village; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie was a firetruck driver working at the fire
station on Old Town Temecula, and when the call went out Guthrie and
his crew headed north toward the billowing smoke; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie and his crew were sent off of the main road about
a mile east of El Cariso Village into a canyon to start setting
backfires and the shifting winds soon pushed a wall of flame back up
the canyon toward their truck; and
WHEREAS, With the flames advancing on them, Guthrie ordered the
other firefighters back to the truck for protection, thus saving
their lives, despite the fact that there was not room in the truck
for him; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie attempted to use a firehose to wet himself down
for protection, but the firehose was burned beyond use; and
WHEREAS, Twenty-seven other firefighters were injured fighting the
1,700-acre blaze, some losing ears, fingers, and noses; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie, with over 85 percent of his body burned, began
walking out of the canyon before others came to his aid and an
ambulance arrived to take him to the closest hospital, which was
located in Hemet; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie finally succumbed to his injuries at Redland's
hospital on September 14, 1959; and
WHEREAS, Guthrie left behind his wife Carlo and a young son and
daughter; and
WHEREAS, It is vital that the sacrifice by John Guthrie and the
other firefighters who were killed in the Decker Canyon Fire in order
to protect the citizens of California be remembered; now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby dedicates that
portion of State Highway Route 215 between the Ramona Expressway
Exit, at postmile 31.08, and its junction with State Route 74, at
postmile 26.31, in honor of John D. Guthrie by officially designating
that route as the CDF Firefighter John D. Guthrie Memorial Highway;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
