 USFS fire manager Urban Post was leading the Tensleep CCC crews in and passed USFS crew fire crew boss Alfred Clayton , who had only one firefighter with him . Post left six men to assist Clayton and the other firefighter so they could help suppress small fires that were spotting over the fire lines . Post then led his crews east up a ridge but saw more spot fires below where Clayton and his crew were . Clayton also saw the spot fires and moved to suppress them . At 4 pm , the spot fires started to crown and Clayton sent a handwritten note to Post requesting additional manpower . By the time the note reached Post , the firestorm commenced , racing east up the ravines and gullies and trapping Clayton and his crew near the dam they had built . There , Clayton and six others died . The eighth firefighter in his crew was rescued but died later in the hospital . 
