Remembering MANNMANN GULCHGULCH August 1949 70 Years Later, Deadly Wildﬁre’S Legacy Still Endures

Remembering MANNMANN GULCHGULCH August 1949 70 years later, deadly wildﬁre’s legacy still endures

PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 2 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

The Mann Gulch ﬁ re can be seen from a U.S. Forest Service plane in August 1949. PHOTO COURTESY OF USFS

Montana’s MANN GULCH FIRE

NUGGETS ost historians might German occupied France, which began a Hale Field aboard a Johnson’s Flying Ser- Minutes later the foreman saw that FROM argue that we have a long fi ght across Europe by allied armies vice C-47 aircraft headed for the fi re. the fi re had jumped the gulch, cutting o HELENA Mduty to remember the to Berlin and the end of World War II. By 4:10 p.m., 15 of the smokejump- the crew’s access to the river. The fl ames sacrifi ce, determination and Aug. 5 marked the 70th anniversary of ers were on the ground in Mann Gulch. had started to spread up the gulch toward courage of those who under- an event, smaller in scope, but no less sig- One jumper returned to Missoula with them. The foreman turned the crew and took particularly daring, po- nifi cant to those involved, to their fami- the plane, ill from the turbulence of the led them at an angle up-slope toward the tentially dangerous and un- lies, friends and a fl edgling community fl ight. About 5 p.m. the crew was headed ridge and away from the fi re. The winds usually heroic acts for which of smokejumpers and wildland fi refi ghter from the drop point to attack the fi re from increased and drove the fi re rapidly toward a high price was often paid. co-workers. below with the river at their backs in case them in the high grass and brush. The fi re This summer two anniversa- The Mann Gulch fi re north of Helena was they needed to retreat to safety. The crew had “blown up.” The steep slope, smoke, MARC ries of particular note come caused by lightning strikes near the top of foreman crossed the gulch to meet the local and high temperature slowed the men CHILDRESS into juxtaposition. the ridge high above the mouth of the gulch fi re guard who had hiked up from his patrol in their race to escape the fl ames. They This June 6 marked the at the Missouri River. By 2:30 p.m. on that cabin on the river. Together they rejoined dropped their tools and fi re packs in an 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of day, 16 smokejumpers had left Missoula’s the crew about 5:40 p.m. attempt to speed up and stay ahead of the REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 3

AP PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. FOREST SERVICE Mann Gulch fire survivors Walter Rumsey, center left, and R. Wagner “Wag” Dodge, center PHOTO COURTESY OF PHILIP SCHLAMP/USFS‌ right, in this 1949 photo, are flanked by ForestS ervice investigators inquiring into the Aug. 5, Fred Patten, recreation guard at Meriwether Campground, inspects the remains of a 1949, Mann Gulch fire. flashlight used in the MannG ulch fire of 1949.T he cross next to him marks the spot where Leonard J. Piper, a smokejumper, lost his life in the fire. fire. The flames reportedly reached up to content of the fuels due to late season 50 feet in height and were traveling up the drying and curing, local topography caus- slope 50 yards every 10 seconds. ing air currents along the Missouri River Two hundred yards after dropping their breaks and regionally long-term hot and gear, the foreman realized that they were dry weather and winds. The cause of the going to be overrun by flames. He lit an fatalities is less clear. If the crew had fol- “escape fire” in the grass and told the men lowed the foreman into the burned area to lie down in the ashes to survive the rap- created by his “escape fire,” perhaps all idly approaching wildfire inferno. Inde- would have survived. pendently, two men followed the edge of Lightning-caused wildfires in the West the “escape fire” to the ridge top and the are common and usually turn into statis- rocks. None of the rest of the crew fol- tics by the next fire season. Without the lowed the foreman into the safety of the deaths of 13 firefighters there would be ashes of the “escape fire” and all were little calling to remember the Mann Gulch overrun by the flames. Only the smoke- fire of 1949. The deaths of 12 smokejump- jumper crew foreman and the two smoke- ers and a local fire guard have earned the jumpers who reached the rocky ridge area Mann Gulch fire the status of a legend. survived. From the Mann Gulch Fire incident, les- The crew foreman’s actions in setting sons were learned about fire fighter safety, an “escape fire,” which no one had at- the importance of communications and tempted before, proved a lifesaving in- leadership, and fire behavior. The For- novation for him. No one knows why the est Service began to think more strongly crew did not follow his directions, or if about developing national fire research AP PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. FOREST SERVICE‌ they even heard them. They kept running laboratories, which eventually were es- Caskets containing the bodies of Mann Gulch fire victims await shipment home to families in for the rocky ridge where it could be as- tablished at several locations including this August 1949 photo. sumed the fire would probably quiet and one at Missoula. slow down. The value of fire to the overall health of The Mann Gulch fire was estimated the forest and the question as to whether War II. It came into service in 1944, but in this country. at 60 acres when the smokejumpers ar- all wildfires should be attacked aggres- too late to participate in the actual D-Day General Dwight Eisenhower, the com- rived, and at 3,000 acres after the “blow sively, with all available resources, in all invasion. mander of Allied forces during the in- up” when the firefighters were overrun. It situations and all locations was not to be The C-47 is the military version of the vasion of Europe, was credited with the was 5,000 acres when finally contained. addressed until many years later. civilian DC-3 plane which was designed statement, “most vital to our success in The cause of the “blow up” was a collision The same C-47 aircraft that dropped in 1935 and became one of the first truly Africa and Europe has been the Jeep, the of circumstances including fine flashy fu- the smokejumpers on the Mann Gulch reliable and efficient passenger aircraft. els such as tall cured grass, low moisture Fire in 1949 had seen service during World Over 10,000 DC-3/C-47s were produced More Retrospect, PAGE 4 4 | August 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH Retrospect continued from Page 3 two and a half ton truck and the C-47. “ The Mann Gulch plane, now known as “Miss Montana,” tail number N-24320, was one of four C-47/DC-3 aircraft acquired by Montana’s notable Johnson Flying Service in Missoula after the war and delivered smokejumpers and cargo throughout the state and surrounding areas until 1975 when the Johnson Fly- ing Service business was sold. The Mann Gulch plane was rediscov- ered and brought back to the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula in 2001 where it has been on display. Our “Miss Montana” was restored over the past year at the Museum of Mountain Flying and participated in the 75th anniversary fly- over and paratroop drop reenactment in Normandy, France in June of this year. It was one of only a handful of other C-47 aircraft still flying and available for the event. It was also restored to reflect and honor a portion of the history of civilian aviation in Montana and throughout the west. A second plane, a DC-3 civilian version of the plane, has recently been acquired by the Museum of Moun- tain Flying. Both planes will continue to be housed at the museum for visitors to experience. Coincidental to the history of the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, France during World War II and the history of the Mann Gulch fire of 1949 was my personal experience with the C-47 airplane that actually dropped the smokejumpers on the 1949 Mann Gulch fire. In May of this year I happened to be standing in the horse pasture when the restored C-47 now known as “Miss Mon- tana” flew directly over my head, with perhaps only 300 or 400 feet separating us. The rumble and the roar of the two radial piston driven engines can actually be felt as well as heard, and I could imagine the effect the sound a whole squadron would have. ASSOCIATED PRESS‌ This plane was on a training flight from its home at the Museum of Moun- An August 1949 photo shows the scope of the Mann Gulch fire near Helena, which took the lives of 12 smokejumpers and a forest ranger tain Flying in Missoula prior to leaving for when a wall of flame raced up a steep hillside. The lightning-caused blaze burned more than 3,000 acres and controlling it required the Normandy for the D-Day Celebration. It efforts of more than 400 firefighters. carried parachutists for a practice jump. It made five or six circles over the valley hear the school children cheering as they cording, documenting and interpreting in “Not forgotten and not gone.” before dropping a “stick” of jumpers over drifted down to a hay field near the school. studies, literature, in signs and markers and Marc Childress retired from the U.S. For- a local rancher’s field. The thrill of par- We honor people and events by remem- displays. We preserve them by official des- est Service in 2008 after a 37-year career ticipation in the event was as strong in the bering and passing on their stories. Our ignation as a part of the National Register on five different national forests in Mon- adults and children who lined local roads shared memories connect us. We com- of Historic Places as was done for the Mann tana, Wyoming and Idaho. He wrote this and the school grounds to watch the plane memorate them at anniversary remem- Gulch fire area in 1999. We preserve signifi- on behalf of the Lewis and Clark Heri- fly over and drop the jumpers, as it was in brances. We learn about them by visiting a cant artifacts that they can be touchstones tage Tourism Council, which provides the the pilot, aircrew, and parachutists. The specific place or physical memorial to the to the past. monthly “Nuggets from Helena” column parachutists commented that they could people or events. We honor them by re- “Gone but not forgotten” can become in the Independent Record. REMEMBERING MANN GULCH AUGUST 2019 | 5 The men on the Mann Gulch ﬁre

The 13 men who were killed in the Mann Gulch fire on Aug. 5, 1949, are pictured here in these 1949 U.S. Forest Service file photos, along with the three survivors from that day. Twelve smokejumpers and a forest ranger died when a 200-foot wall of fire swept up the steep slopes of Mann Gulch near Helena.

Robert Sallee— Walter Rumsey— Wag Dodge, William J. Hellman— James O. Harrison- Survivor Survivor Foreman—Survivor Killed Killed

Philip R. McVey— David R. Navon— Leonard L. Piper— Stanley J. Reba— Eldon B. Diettert— Killed Killed Killed Killed Killed

Robert J. Bennett— Marvin L. Sherman— Joseph B. Sylvia— Henry J. Thol—Killed Newton R. Silas R. Thompson Killed Killed Killed Thompson—Killed Jr.—Killed 6 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

The recovery crew digs through the food and water dropped to them. According to Wilson, the smell of the burned bodies was so bad most of the men skipped lunch because of their nausea. PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

SmokejumperSmokejumper recountedrecounted MannMann GulchGulch recoveryrecovery e orte ort inin photosphotos REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 7

PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS After successfully recovering the bodies of the deceased, the crew hikes back down to the Missouri River on Aug. 6, 1949.

THOM BRIDGE the only photos of the aftermath. bags they brought. wildland firefighting career. der his supervision. [email protected] In a 2017 interview published “They didn’t have body bags “It’s something that you always “I would burn homes up far n Aug. 6, 1949, the U.S. on YouTube, Wilson recounts at the time,” Wilson said. “So we remember, it’s something that af- easier than I would burn people Forest Service sent a that day and the mission to rescue slid open the sleeping bag to put fected my entire firefighting ca- up,” he said. ‌Orecovery mission to the those who fell victim to the Mann bodies in.” reer,” he said. “I was always cogni- Images captured that day show site of the Mann Gulch fire after Gulch fire. The crew was tasked with hik- zant of the people dying on fires.” the recovery effort and scenes of tragedy struck the smokejumpers The rescue crew hiked in 150 ing the deceased to the top of a Wilson went on to be a wildfire the wildfire’s destruction. the day before. On that recovery pounds of first aid supplies, but ridge so a helicopter could airlift logistics coordinator and would These images were provided crew was smokejumper Richard upon arrival realized medical aid the bodies back to town. The op- determine whether neighbor- thanks to the University of Mon- “Dick” Wilson, who carried a was useless because the smoke- eration took a total of two days. hoods were safe to put firefighters tana’s Archive and Special Col- small film camera in the collar of jumpers were already deceased. Wilson says he carried what on. He says that during his career, lections, which houses Wilson’s his jumpsuit and captured some of They did find use for the sleeping he saw that day for the rest of his he didn’t lose any firefighters un- collection. 8 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH MannMann GulchGulch recoveryrecovery e orte ort inin photosphotos

The body of a Mann Gulch ﬁ re victim is loaded aboard a helicopter on Aug. 6, 1949. PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 9

Two deer wander toward the recovery crew during a break that day. Wilson believes the deer were in shock from the fire because of their abnormal behavior. PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

A Forest Service plane drops food and water to the recovery crew in Mann Gulch Aug. 6, 1949. PHOTO COURTESY OF DICK WILSON/UM ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 10 | August 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH Flathead man dodged Mann Gulch flames Jack Dunne was retrieving parachutes in Idaho when deadly Montana blaze flared

KIM BRIGGEMAN [email protected]‌ ‌COLUMBIA FALLS — Jack Dunne knows it could’ve been him at Mann Gulch. Seventy years later he still insists that, had he been there, it wouldn’t have been. Dunne was a World War II veteran in his fourth season of smoke jumping out of Missoula when a dozen jumpers and one other firefighter suffered fiery deaths at Mann Gulch on Aug. 5, 1949. The Forest Service parachuting program was young, like most of the victims. Dunne, a wizened 23-year-old, was retrieving parachutes after a minor fire in northern Idaho 250 miles away when the inferno in the Gates of the Mountains blew up at around 5:30 p.m. In a life-and-death scramble for the ridgetop above the Missouri River, foreman Wag Dodge stopped and lit an escape fire to divert the worst of the flames. He hollered at others to join him in his own burn. Either they didn’t hear him, didn’t understand him or didn’t believe him. None obeyed him. Facedown in the ashes, wet handkerchief to mouth, Dodge survived. Only two others did. Bob Sallee of Willow Creek, just 17, and 21-year-old Walt Rumsey of Kan- TOMMY MARTINO PHOTOS, MISSOULIAN‌ sas squeezed through a crevice in Jack Dunne looks on and smiles as he sits near the Flathead River outside the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls earlier this summer. Dunne, a the rimrock above Dodge’s fire and decorated World War II tail gunner, was in his fourth season as a smokejumper when 13 men suffered fiery deaths at MannG ulch on Aug. 5, 1949. made it to the Promised Land. Dunne knew Dodge. He’d seen State Veterans home in Columbia “The foreman did all the buying let that fire burn us to pieces.’ As “If you don’t get a good partner,” him every morning at the smoke- Falls. and things like that, but he didn’t it turned out … that just wouldn’t he explained, “it’s work.” jumper base at Hale Field in Mis- “Wag Dodge would come walk- work in the training of these peo- have happened.” A young jumper approached him soula, whenever one of the two of ing by. He wouldn’t stop or any- ple,” Dunne recalled. “The kids (on • • • and asked to help. Dunne demurred them wasn’t out on a fire or support thing. He’d say, ‘Good morning, the Mann Gulch fire) didn’t know There are details from ’49 that but upon the boy’s insistence fi- assignment. Jack,’ and I’d yell good morning him.” Dunne doesn’t recall as he did 35 nally consented. From the first day he stepped back to him. He kept right on go- That’s why Dunne, the veteran, years ago. In 1984 he was nearing “And the guy was good,” Dunne on base in 1946, Dunne had been ing. He was a marvelous man.” feels he would have survived. the end of a long teaching career in told Norgaard. “I mean, he was designated “tool man” and filer of Dunne’s point through all these “The foremen we had, and we Whitefish when he sat down with real good. The saw has a particular crosscut saws, having sharpened years was echoed by the late Nor- had maybe three or four, they were Jim Norgaard for an interview as singing sound when it’s working those skills working for the Forest man Maclean in “Young Men and good heads. They came up the part of the Smokejumpers 1984 right and it was an absolute plea- Service before he joined the Army Fire: A True Story of the Mann hard way. Nothing was ever given Reunion Oral History Project. sure with that man, and we walked as well as at sawmills, including J. Gulch Fire.” That is, Dodge, an old to any of those people, and if they Dunne told Norgaard that about all the way through the fire line.” Neils Lumber Co. in Libby, after his hand in the young smokejumper told you to do something, you did a week before the Mann Gulch The young man’s name was discharge. program, was most valuable to that it,” he said. fire he’d been part of a crew that Sherman. Marvin Sherman grew “His (Dodge’s) job was taking program as a fix-it man. “Now these younger guys, there jumped on a fire on Edith Peak up in Darby, moved to Missoula care of supplies and the trucks, “He could do things with his was a couple of outlaws in that north of Frenchtown. He started in 1942 and graduated from high etcetera,” Dunne, now 93, said on hands approaching artistry,” is how bunch, and they said, ‘Bull——. cutting fire line with a saw, a job school there. He was a Navy veteran a recent morning at the Montana Maclean put it. We’re not going to lay down and he preferred to do alone. and rookie smokejumper. REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 11

Two weeks after impressing “If he had told me to do it, there Dunne with his saw skills, the wouldn’t have been any hesitation 21-year-old Sherman was on the at all because he (Dodge) was very jump list for Mann Gulch. He’s experienced and he thought well.” one of those who ran past Dodge’s • • • escape line and perished. That was Jack Dunne’s last In the 1984 interview, Dunne summer as a smokejumper. He’d said he was dispatched to Bonners grown up on what he called the Ferry, Idaho, a couple of days be- “mean streets of Butte,” and left fore Mann Gulch. This time it was school to join the Army Air Corps to help cart an injured firefighter as soon as he turned 18 in late 1943. out of the woods. Dunne said he After the war Dunne received was pushing the wheeled stretcher his general equivalency degree, up a trail when it became stuck in a then a teaching degree from West- narrow gap through rocks. ern Montana College in Dillon. He “Then one of the new men, he raised a family while teaching at said, ‘Hey, just wait a minute,’ and Hot Springs and Whitefish. he worked his way around the face Daughter Cindy followed in of this rock … And he leaned over, Dunne’s footsteps as an educa- it must have dropped 50 or 70 feet tor, but also lived for years in the there, and … grabbed me by the smokejumper world after she mar- arm and by the hand and between ried Jack Babon. the two of us we drug the stretcher Babon ran the facility crew at “Maybe they didn’t have confidence up through this crack in the rocks,” the Missoula jump base from 1981 in him because he hadn’t been Dunne said. to 1988. Earlier he spent four sea- around that much …” Dunne said “And I thought, well, there’s a sons fighting fires from the air. He of the foreman on the Mann Gulch good man, ‘cause he didn’t have to rookied in 1975, the last year John- fire. “He told the crew what to do do it, there was other people that son Flying Service owned N-24320, and the crew didn’t respond and, could’ve. But I’m gonna have to get the DC-3 airplane that flew those of course, (it’s) difficult to respond to know him. So there was two good young men to their deaths at Mann under conditions like that because men.” Gulch in 1949. it must have been quite frightening. In his interview with Norgaard, Babon says now when his fu- And they chose to try to run out of Dunne didn’t identify the sec- ture father-in-law was called to that basin and they didn’t do it. ond man. The Idaho fire out, the the rescue in Idaho in early August smokejumpers returned to Mis- ‘1949, then volunteered to spend missions over the Pacific in World soula to wait for their next assign- an extra day retrieving parachutes War II as a tailgunner in a B-29, ment. Dunne stayed to lead a crew instead of returning to the base in and earn the Distinguished Flying that spent a day retrieving para- Missoula, it spared him the Mann Cross and an Air Meda if you’re not. chutes from the woods. Gulch assignment and probably “Something like (Mann Gulch) is They stayed that night at the his life. scary, but I’ve been through scarier ranger station at Bonners Ferry. “Whenever you get in from a fire things in the war,” Dunne said. The following morning the ranger or detail, you go to the bottom of A tailgunner in a bomber, peer- brought in news of the Mann Gulch the list and work your way up to the ing through a tiny opening at disaster. Both Sherman and the top,” Babon said. enemy aircraft and antiaircraft young man who climbed around In a busy fire season such as guns trying to do you the ultimate the rock to help him were on the 1949, when a jumper returned he harm, is “about as scary as it gets,” fatality list. might find himself right back to he said. “You can talk to yourself “It hurt,” Dunne said. “It hurt the top of the list. That so many and everything else under those quite bad.” at Mann Gulch were rookies who circumstances.” In a sentiment he echoed 35 years didn’t know Dodge or understand In the seven decades since later, Dunne told Norgaard he be- his motives in the heat of the mo- Mann Gulch blew up, Jack Dunne lieved the young crew’s unfamiliar- ment is not surprising, Babon said. has reflected on its lessons and ity with foreman Dodge at Mann The rotation is a changing thing comes up with the same conclu- Gulch was a key component in their throughout the summer. Cohe- sion. decision to run past the escape fire. sion with a crew foreman is another “Of course I’ve thought about “Maybe they didn’t have con- thing that was addressed in training it quite a bit, and if you’re in the fidence in him because he hadn’t in the aftermath of Mann Gulch. business long enough you’re go- been around that much …” Dunne “I believe he and a few other guys ing to see that,” he said. “If you’re said. “He told the crew what to do were at the top of the list,” said Ba- fighting fire you’re going to get in- and the crew didn’t respond and, bon, a veteran of 72 jumps. “They volved with the fire itself. of course, (it’s) difficult to respond were taken off the top and the next “But no, I would have come out under conditions like that because guys were moved to the top. They OK.” The summer of the Mann Gulch fire was Dunne’s last as a smokejumper. it must have been quite frightening. were so close to going.” “Obviously, you needed to be “Of course I’ve thought about it quite a bit, and if you’re in the business And they chose to try to run out of He also believes his father-in- here for me, Dad,” Cindy Babon long enough you’re going to see that,” he said. “If you’re fighting fire that basin and they didn’t do it. law was fearless. You don’t fly 33 said. “So thank you very much.” you’re going to get involved with the fire itself.” MANN GULCH FOREST SERVICE SIGN

This commemorative sign was installed at Mann Gulch to explain the tragedy to visitors. 14 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

Lessons learned from the Mann Gulch tragedy

THOM BRIDGE PHOTOS, INDEPENDENT RECORD A memorial to the smokejumpers who died on the Mann Gulch ﬁ re welcomes visitors at the Meriwether Picnic Area.

TOM KUGLIN Missoula for the smokejumpers to respond. [email protected] he tragedy that unfolded on Aug. Mann Gulch today 5, 1949 in a remote gulch north Seven decades later, Helena-Lewis and of Helena stands as the smoke- Clark Forest Supervisor Bill Avey sat at the jumpers’ deadliest day. Gates of the Mountains Marina, prepar- TMann Gulch still sits today much like it ing to board a boat along with other Forest did 70 years ago, isolated between the Mis- Service o cials and John Driscoll of the souri River and wildlands of the Big Belt National Smokejumper Association. Their Mountains. No roads provide motorized destination was Mann Gulch the way most access. Trails from roads range from 7 to 18 visitors see it today: a tour boat ride down miles by foot or horseback through a mix the Gates of the Mountains and a steep of steep canyons and ridgetops. And water switchback trail to the ridge where the fi re travel means fi nding a boat to transport started. people and supplies. Visiting the site where 13 people lost their In August of that year nearby fi res at York lives o ers the starkest of reminders of the and in Cave Gulch demanded nearly all the dangers wildland fi refi ghters face and the resources the local area could muster. So decisions to put them in harm’s way to pro- when the call came in for a small wildfi re tect life and property. Retired smokejumper John Driscoll points to the location where 13 men died on Aug. 5, burning in the remote stretches of Mann “We put a lot of training and responsibil- 1949, fi ghting the Mann Gulch fi re. Gulch, it is little wonder the request went to ity into people,” Avey said. “You’ve got to REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 15

A informational signs tells the story of the Mann Gulch tragedy to hikers who pass by. respect the fact that they’re the ones on onto the fire. The river would give them an the ground and in the field making those important escape if things turned bad. decisions. You also have to respect the re- But before they could make the river, sponsibility and the accountability that we spot fires cut them off and shifting winds put on those folks, because they’re truly brought a racing inferno up the gulch. making life-safety decisions.” Crew foreman Wag Dodge ordered them to Following the historic 1910 fires that drop their gear and run. Only two, Robert burned 3 million acres across Idaho and Sallee and Walter Rumsey, would make the Montana, the Forest Service knew fire ridge to safety while Dodge succeeded in crews made up of whoever was available burning out a small area of grass and lying needed serious reform. By the 1930s in- face down with his coat over his head as terest grew in parachuting firefighters the fire burned around him. into remote blazes and by 1940, the first jump occurred in Washington. In 1949, Hike to the top 150 smokejumpers worked in the region, The tour boat landed at Meriwether Day What Mann Gulch looks like today as viewed from the Missouri River. mostly concentrated in Missoula. Use area. A jaunt past the guard station be- “It’s like jumping out of a subway train gins the climb, switchback after switch- in New York City,” Driscoll, who jumped back heading up through a narrow crease in the 1960s, said. “You’re going down a in the limestone cliffs. tunnel and there’s all this stuff coming by Contemporary trail builders would you and you have a feeling of motion and never put it in the same place today, said you jump into it. Roy Barkley, recreation specialist with the “So you have to psyche yourself up that Forest Service, but the historic value of its you’re jumping into a picture window or destination keeps it high on the priority list something, or you say to yourself, 200,000 for maintenance. people have made this jump and only a few The 1.5-mile ascent offers continuous have been killed so the chances are it isn’t vista views of the Gates of the Mountains going to happen to me.” below – a stunning stretch of the Missouri Driscoll has 17 jumps to his credit and River given its name by Meriwether Lewis. says that was enough. Given the gravity of Finally the trail enters the open ridgetop, the work they do, a tremendous level of re- cresting just as a commemorative sign spect exists for the decision of a firefighter comes into view. to hang up his or her gear. Memorials lay scattered across the far “There’s a lot of mutual respect there hillside for the 12 smokejumpers — Stanley because it’s a pretty fearsome deal, at least Reba, Silas Thompson, Joseph Sylvia, Rob- it was for me,” he said. ert Bennett, Newton Thompson, Leonard The crew in 1949 made the jump suc- Piper, Eldon Diettert, Marvin Sherman, cessfully into Mann Gulch, assembled David Navon, Philip McVey, Henry Thol gear and began to make their way to the Missouri River with the plan to work back More Lessons, PAGE 16 The informational sign at Mann Gulch shows how quickly the fire exploded. 16 | August 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

A view of the Missouri River from the Meriwether trail which leads to Mann Gulch.

sometimes visits with new firefighters, Avey Lessons said. The message is unmistakable, driving continued from Page 15 home the principles of safety in the face of the dangers of the job. and William Hellman — along with Meri- Avey paused when asked whether smoke- wether guard James Harrison, a former jumpers would jump on Mann Gulch under smokejumper who came to assist. the same conditions today, given what is While the loss of life rocked the Forest Ser- known about wildfires. Each fatality or other vice, the tragedy brought important changes serious incident is unique, he said, and the to the way fires are fought and studied, Avey exact circumstances will never present them- said. selves again. The crew worked together little before their Fire managers today face a reality of longer jump into Mann Gulch, Avey said. Training fire seasons and more people and homes in now focuses heavily on crew cohesion, lead- potential danger when deciding when to de- ership and communication when on a wild- ploy firefighters on the ground or from the air. fire. “Our real guiding philosophy is, how do we Dodge’s use of a burnout fire, while it must insert forces to protect the public, limit expo- have seemed radical at the time, especially sure to responders and have the best proba- to the crew who continued to run despite bility of success,” Avey said. “Sometimes that his pleas to join him, is now fundamental means you’ll jump a fire, a small fire and hit to training, he said. Firefighters learn early it hard direct because the implications if we on the phrase “one foot in the black,” giv- don’t do that and it grows, you’ll have more ing them a critical escape path into already people at risk. burned areas. “The places that keep me up at night are During wildfire training, Mann Gulch is a the places where we don’t have that time or Forest Service officials and members of the press hike to MannG ulch from the place where the Forest Service talks about and space.” Meriwether trail on a recent trip. REMEMBERING MANN GULCH AUGUST 2019 | 17

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOB TUBBS/MHS Mann Gulch survivors Bob Sallee and Walter Rumsey pose for a photograph during a visit to Mann Gulch in 1978. Survivors return to Mann Gulch after tragic day

THOM BRIDGE [email protected] In late July of 1978, while Norman Ma- cLean was doing research for his book “Young Men and Fire,” he organized a trip to Mann Gulch with Bob Sallee and Walter Rumsey, the only remaining survivors of the Mann Gulch fi re at the time. It was to be the fi rst time the survivors would revisit the scene of the tragedy. When they arrived to the Gates of the Mountains Marina to take a boat to the gulch, Bob Tubbs, manager of the marina, recognized the men and phoned the Great Falls Tribune. The newspaper sta couldn’t send anyone so they asked Tubbs to photograph the visit. These are two of the images, unearthed from the Montana Historical Society archives, from that day. According to John Tubbs, son of Bob Tubbs, he and Mike Bullock bribed the Mann Gulch survivors Bob Sallee and men with beer and soda to let them pho- Walter Rumsey read about the fi re on an tograph the trip. informational kiosk at the Gates of the Mountains in 1978. 18 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

The Mann Gulch plane after being restored in the last year as Miss Montana. TOM BAUER, MISSOULIAN

Story of 75-year-old DC-3 marked by TRAGEDY,TRAGEDY, TRIUMPHTRIUMPH REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 19

KIM BRIGGEMAN game in Butte for $8.50 round trip, was “extremely rough” and some of [email protected]‌ and to the Grizzlies’ game in Seattle the men got sick. One, Merle Strat- ohnson Flying Service’s pur- with the Washington Huskies for $35. ton, threw up in his facemask and A flight through history chase in 1946 of a war-surplus Johnson soon added another DC- begged off the jump. He’d had trouble Miss Montana, N-24320 Douglas DC-3 was deemed 3, which also went by the military with airsickness and nausea all sea- newsworthy by the local designation C-47. In October 1947, son, even checking into St. Patrick May 4, 1944 — Rolled off the Douglas newspaper. Lavoie and Jack Hughes each piloted Hospital in July. Stratton reportedly Aircraft manufacturing line in Long ‌JThe Missoulian reported the an- one to Concord, New Hampshire, quit the smokejumpers when he re- Beach, California. Accepted into service nouncement by company president to help fight massive forest fires in turned to Missoula that evening. by the U.S. Army Air Forces and assigned Bob Johnson on April 16. Maine. Once the fire was located, Cooley to Rosecrans Air Force Base in St. Louis, “Mr. Johnson said the airplane, In 1949 a Johnson DC-3 twin en- and Dodge chose a grassy slope at the Missouri. the seventeenth in the firm’s fleet, gine dropped hay for a snowbound bottom of the gulch as the best jump will be used principally for carrying pack string in Idaho’s Selway coun- site. Two drift chutes were dropped, June 1945 — Transferred to the 554th forest service parachutist fire fight- try and sprayed for spruce budworms indicating “about 300 to 400 yards Army Air Force Base in Memphis, Tennes- ers to their work, and will also carry in Oregon. One of them spent the six steady drift straight up Mann Gulch.” see. freight,” the Page 5 story said. “It has weeks prior to the Mann Gulch fire Huber, an experienced pilot, cir- April 1946 — Missoulian story noted a capacity of 28 passengers, and will in Buffalo, Wyoming, where it “scat- cled the jump site and Dodge led the purchase by Johnson Flying Services of carry three tons of cargo at a cruising tered grasshopper poison bait over first stick of four jumpers out. Suc- speed of 160 miles per hour.” nearly 50,000 acres of prairie land,” ceeding passes at 1,000 feet yielded Missoula. For nearly 30 years, the lumbering according to the Missoulian. four, four and the final three jumpers. May 1946 — After modification for civil- aircraft served Johnson in various The call on Aug. 5 came into the Only Dodge himself had trouble upon ian use by Johnson, given the registration capacities, carrying smokejumpers, jump base at Hale Field in south Mis- landing, receiving a puncture wound number N-24320. cargo and charter passengers, and soula at 1:50 p.m. The ranger of the to the bone in his elbow. spraying weeds and insects. It was Canyon Ferry Ranger District asked The cargo drop also had issues. Be- Aug. 5, 1949 — Assigned to fly smoke- sold with the rest of the Johnson Jack Nash, the loft dispatcher, for 25 cause of rough air in the gulch, Huber jumpers to Mann Gulch Fire in Montana. fleet to Evergreen International of smokejumpers. couldn’t get down to the preferred Only three of the 15 jumpers survived. McMinnville, Oregon, in late 1975. But N-24320, with a payload of 16 200-foot level but remained at 1,000. Dec. 22, 1954 — Crash-landed in the Known in aviation and smokejumpers and gear, was the only air- Besides scattering tools and supplies, Monongahela River near Pittsburgh while jumper circles by its civilian regis- craft available. Earl Cooley, super- the lone radio didn’t survive the drop. carrying 23 soldiers from Newark, New tration number N-24320, or sim- intendent of the base, was asked to Cooley said the static line broke off in Jersey, to Tacoma, Washington, for Christ- ply “three-two-oh,” it became the go along as spotter, and provided the the plane and didn’t open the chute. “Mann Gulch plane” to others in most detailed account of Miss Mon- It landed with “a terrific crash” mas. Nine passengers and the captain 1949, after dropping 12 jumpers to tana’s role in the Mann Gulch fire in about a quarter of a mile down the drowned attempting to reach shore. what turned out to be fiery deaths in his book “Trimotor and Trail.” canyon from the landing area, Nor- 1975 — Sold to Evergreen International a steep gulch north of Helena. The jump crew, stationed in bar- man Maclean wrote in “Young Men Airlines of McMinnville, Oregon The airplane gained a more wide- racks on the adjacent county fair- and Fire.” It meant, he said, “that the spread and heroic moniker in 2018 grounds, was assembled and in the outside world had disappeared. The 1979 — Sold to Basler Aviation of Osh- and 2019 as “Miss Montana,” the air by 2:30 p.m. The plane carried only world had become Mann Gulch kosh, Wisconsin Museum of Mountain Flying’s pride foreman Wag Dodge, 33, and squad and a fire.” 1985 — Sold to McNeely Charter Service and joy. Part of the D-Day Squad- leader Bill Hellman, 24, who was sec- Dodge and his men put out orange of West Memphis, Arkansas ron of “Dougs,” it turned thousands ond in command. The other 14 jump- streamers in a double L, indicating to of heads when it flew to Europe and ers ranged in age from 17 to 24. the plane that everyone was present Dec. 15, 1994 — Sustained substantial back with the D-Day Squadron in Nash went along as Cooley’s as- and accounted for. damage to the tail when a FedEx Cessna May and June 2019 for World War II- sistant spotter. The pilot was Ken All told, it was a successful drop jet collided with N-24320 in the dark related commemorations in England, Huber and the co-pilot Frank Small. from the airplane on what seemed to while both airplanes were taxiing for France and Germany. A Forest Service photographer, Elmer be a routine 50- to 60-acre fire high takeoff in Memphis. It was simply “a twin-engine Bloom, went along to shoot a training above the firefighters on the ridge to Douglas DC-3 passenger and cargo film on the workings inside a smoke- the south. The fire would soon burn 2001 — Sold to the Museum of Mountain airplane” when it first touched down jumper plane. down the slope near the Missouri Flying, Missoula in Missoula in the spring of ‘46. As it was a short flight to Helena, River, spot in trees across the gulch, 2018 — Dubbed “Miss Montana” as ef- Johnson pilot Orman LaVoie was at Cooley and Nash started suiting up then come roaring up the north side forts began by the Museum of Mountain the controls, and mechanic Waldo the jumpers shortly after takeoff. to overrun the fleeing men. Only Flying to make the plane airworthy Matthies was crew chief. Lavoie had While Huber was radioing the air- Dodge and two rookie jumpers sur- logged 1,000 hours for the Army Air plane’s location back to Missoula, vived. May 12, 2019 — Flew for the first time Force as a flight officer in World War he couldn’t make contact with the But that was in the unforeseen next since 2001 II, flying over the Burma Hump from Helena Forest. two hours. May 19, 2019 — Left Missoula to fly to India to China. He later flew com- Cooley said as he was helping El- Her job done, N-24320 circled mercial jets for Western and Delta don Diettert with his gear, Diettert twice more, then turned for home. Europe for the 75th commemoration of D- Airlines. Matthies worked on air- mentioned he’d been called away “It headed straight down Mann Day and the 70th commemoration of the planes similar to the DC-3 for sev- from his 19th birthday party at home Gulch and across the glare of the Mis- Berlin Airlift eral years while in the Navy and with in Missoula. His father’s garden ad- souri,” Maclean wrote. “It seemed to June 24, 2019 — Returned safely from Northwest Airlines. joined the Cooleys’ backyard in Mis- be leaving frighteningly fast, and it Europe By football season 1946, Johnson soula. was. It had started out a freight train, Flying was promoting round-trip According to Cooley, the 40-min- loaded with cargo. Now it was light flights to the Grizzly-Bobcat football ute trip over the Continental Divide and fast and was gone.” 20 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

Mark Finney, a research scientist at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, demonstrates an experiment to study ﬁ re behavior recently. TOM BAUER, MISSOULIAN

Missoula lab provides ﬁreﬁghters with INSIGHTS, TOOLS

EVE BYRON the lab, which is tucked into a nondescript personal experience,” Butler said. “I did a “Eventually there was a fair amount [email protected] building near the Missoula International survey, and the size of the safety zone var- of momentum to invest in fi re research,” ost Montanans are familiar with Airport, those properties are just the start ied by three orders of magnitude. But when Finney recalled. “Experimental research is the “what” portion of the 1949 of their research, and their discoveries are they saw the pictures of the fi re, their sizes at the heart of science; you can’t address MMann Gulch tragedy — 13 men making fi refi ghting safer. (for safety zones) increased greatly. That the unknowns without experiments. You who lost the uphill race with a deadly wall Bret Butler, a mechanical engineer, notes indicates to me that we fi re people have a have to play with them and experiment with of fl ames. But since the 1960s, scientists that the 10 standard fi refi ghter orders and hard time envisioning what fi re looks like them in di erent ways than ever imagined at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory 18 “watch out” situations were devised in and its impact on us.” in the 1960s, when the lab opened.” are better understanding the “why” of the the 1960s and haven’t changed much. They So the scientists at the lab play with fi re, He stood in front of a 6-foot table with situation and how to keep it from happen- include the basics like posting lookouts, testing and recording its characteristics for the bottom closest to him lower than the ing again. giving clear instructions and identifying “boots on the ground” situations. top. Inserted in it were pieces of cardboard Many parts of fi refi ghting are intuitive. escape routes and safety zones. But when On a recent afternoon, Mark Finney, a re- with uniform teeth like combs standing up. Fire burns faster uphill. Fires need fuel, a he asked fi refi ghters to defi ne a safety zone, search forester, noted that scientists began Finney had selected some that were rela- spark, and oxygen. Wind pushes fi re. he got mixed responses. looking into the mechanics of wildfi res in tively thin and about an inch tall as he noted But to the scientists and engineers at “How big should it be? That was left to Region 1 after the 1910 fi res. that even the simplest questions about REMEMBERING MANN GULCH August 2019 | 21 wildland fires are unanswered. “How do fires spread? What is the physical process?” Finney asks. “That’s still largely unknown. But it doesn’t mean we can’t test the processes. It’s like agreeing on the ingredients for a recipe, but if you don’t know the amounts of the ingredients and the instructions, you’ll get something different every time.” The different types of cardboard tines represent different fuel types, like fine grasses or maybe pine needles or sage- brush. Finney sprinkled “excelsior,” which is shredded wood formerly used in Easter baskets, at the base of the table and lights it on fire. He called it an ignition line. “This isn’t intended to emulate what happens in the wildland fires, since fuel in the field is heterogeneous; in the field it varies from centimeter to centimeter,” Finney added. “But it helps us study how heat is transferred from what’s burning to the next fuel element that ignites.” He lighted the excelsior, and as the flames started to lick up the tabletop, Finney pointed to the troughs in between the tips of the flames. While eyes may be drawn to the dancing tips, activity in the troughs is what makes the fire spread. “The trough is where the cold air comes down, and that’s what’s pushing the fire. The top of the flame isn’t what’s igniting; it’s the lower part of the flames,” Finney said. “A lot of this hasn’t made its way into training and predictive models, but in the not-so-distant future — maybe a few years — we’ll work this into prediction and training curriculums. We can explain Bioscience technician Jon Bergroos, right, and Mark Finney demonstrate a wind tunnel fire test at the FireS ciences Laboratory in Missoula to firefighting personnel how to interpret recently. this in the field. What does this mean, and how does it translate to different decisions fires go faster,” Butler said, shaking his automated. The old system required daily know that despite their best efforts at the they make for safety purposes?” head as he recalls the 14 firefighters who observations at weather stations across fire science lab, firefighting always will be He noted that flame behavior on the died in 1994 in Colorado trying to outrun the country, a relic of when weather ob- a dangerous profession. larger 12-by-20-foot “sand burner” be- a fire burning on a slope below them and servations were made manually.” “I do know that the information we can hind him also is relevant to Mann Gulch pushed around by wind. “I don’t know Jolly said the nearby regional Northern give them today versus the information because they’re using propane and other why we can’t learn that lesson.” Rockies Coordination Center, which is the they had then, is significantly better and liquid fuels to experiment with the effects What they did learn is the need to pre- interagency focal point for mobilization of they would have had a better idea of the of slope on fire spread and flame behavior. dict and understand local winds at the wildland fire resources, already is using conditions where they were about to jump “Those poor guys in Mann Gulch ran up ground level. That led to the creation of the new system. into,” Jolly said. “What we also have done the mountain from down below. Flames the WindNinja, a mobile phone app to “We just presented it to the smoke- a better job with since Mann Gulch is em- will stick to the slope and run very rapidly help fire managers predict what winds jumpers next door last month, and they’re powering firefighters to express their con- uphill,” Finney said. “We test cautionary will do while out in the field. excited about it,” Jolly added. “Just be- cerns about a decision, and having dis- behaviors. Don’t work upslope of fires. Matt Jolly, an ecolostist with the Fire cause it’s cool and wet here doesn’t mean cussions on how they will mitigate those That was Mann Gulch, steep slope and Science Lab, said they’re also getting it’s the same when they fly into Idaho. factors to keep their crews safe. That’s a fine fuels. It’s interesting that everybody ready to roll out across the country the “Both the firefighters and the public are cultural shift that’s evolving. knows fire spreads up slope faster but we first revision in 40 years for fire danger the reason I come to work each day. I want “The big thing is in this lab and all over still can’t fully explain it.” ratings. The ratings are based on a wide to ensure we’re providing the best pos- the country we are committed to learning In his office, Butler pulled out a 1993 mix of conditions, including humid- sible information so we can keep people as much as we can about fire, then taking paper by Richard Rothermel called “Mann ity, rainfall, sunshine, cloud cover, wind safe.” that last step, which is how do we keep Gulch Fire: A Race that Couldn’t Be Won” speed and direction, and fuel moistures, As Jolly, Butler and Finney reflect on the people safer, and the community safer. and opens it to page 5. A distance and time among other items. conditions facing the Mann Gulch fire- Because science for science’s sake is valu- graph showed the estimated positions of “We went through the entire fire danger fighters, and the knowledge that’s available, but when you can translate that into the Mann Gulch crew and the fire, plotting rating system and determined where we able now that wasn’t then, they hope that something people use day to day, hour to the movements of both. have better science,” Jolly said. “It both the tools they’re providing will prevent hour to keep communities safer and peo- “It’s simple. People go slower uphill and simplifies the system and makes it fully another firefighter’s death. But they all ple safer — that’s the reason we’re here.” 22 | AUGUST 2019 REMEMBERING MANN GULCH

Colt Barnard, 11, places flowers on a marker where one of the 13 men died in the Mann Gulch fire. Barnard and his family decided to form One Foot in the Black. The foundation is currently applying for its 501c3 designation with its first goal to fund new crosses in Mann Gulch by the 75th anniversary. PHOTOS COURTESY OF AUDREY WALLESAR‌

Montana boy, 11, launching nonprofit to replace Mann Gulch crosses

TOM KUGLIN tragedy at Mann Gulch in 1949 and became Earlier this summer Colt and Audrey “We went up there and saw how de- [email protected]‌ captivated. went to Mann Gulch, carrying flowers to stroyed the crosses are,” Colt said. ‌It all started as a 4-H project for Colt “It really started with my mom fighting place on the 13 markers dotting the hillside. Colt mentioned the idea of raising some Barnard. fire and (Mann Gulch) was one of those He was struck by the steepness of the slope money to help fund replacements. As the Firefighting is a family affair for the things that I found,” he said. “What they and what the Smokejumpers faced at- family began to look at where to donate, 11-year-old from Fromberg, including his had to go through at the time, they barely tempting to flee as the fire blew up. they learned that no organization exists to mother Audrey Walleser, and both grand- had any good equipment, just jeans and a As they approach the markers, they could pay for and take care of wildland firefighter fathers. As he embarked on the 4-H project cotton shirt,” he replied when asked what not help but notice their poor condition af- memorials. on forestry, Colt learned more about the interested him the most. ter nearly seven decades in the elements. “The project was supposed to be about REMEMBERING MANN GULCH AUGUST 2019 | 23

Barnard looks through research materials on a trip to Mann Gulch. Earlier this summer, Colt and Audrey went to Mann Gulch, carrying flowers to place on the 13 markers dotting the hillside. forestry, then we started raising all this and community awareness, and to fund about them. Media coverage and word of “There are lots of moving components, money,” Colt said. memorials at other sites. mouth has helped spread the word about lots of red tape,” Audrey said. “There The family decided to form One Foot “We joke about it all the time that we their cause. are lots of components of who is really in the Black. The foundation is currently were just trying to raise some money, “I think it really shocks them that a kid in charge of the Mann Gulch memorials, applying for its 501c3 designation with but now long-term we’re talking about my age is doing this for something that who is responsible and who makes those its first goal to fund new crosses in Mann what it will look like once the nonprofit happened 70 years ago,” Colt said. executive decisions.” Gulch by the 75th anniversary. is established,” Audrey said. “That’s the biggest thing that I think,” Fundraising includes private dona- “With One Foot in the Black it offers One of the next projects they hope to Ben said, “that it’s amazing especially in tions and a sponsorship by the Greater the opportunity to go up and replace take on is new memorials for five fire- today’s world that you have a kid that’s Yellowstone Adventure Series, which is those crosses and pay a little bit more fighters who died in the 2006 Esperanza not staring at a TV screen or playing holding a silent auction for a wildland respect to the firefighters that lost their fire in California. Currently, steel rebar video games, but he’s out there doing firefighter print by artist Sarah Morris lives and changed so much of how the crosses mark the locations where the this.” of Ennis. More information is available fire industry is run today,” said Ben Mar- firefighters lost their lives, but inter- While the need is clear and the enthu- at https://www.themadisonmarathon. tin, Audrey’s fiancé. est has grown in designing more fitting siasm infectious for honoring the loss com/. One Foot in the Black does not plan memorials. of wildland firefighters, the family has Audrey says One Foot in the Black will to stop after Mann Gulch. They hope Colt’s and his family’s efforts reso- learned that the efforts are not without also launch a Facebook page soon. to provide grants for wildfire education nate with everyone who seems to hear their challenges. Coming Soon.. Emergency Preparedness Guide The Independent Record’s unique publication is filled with local resources to keep you & your family safe. This guide will inform you on how to create an action plan, build an emergency kit, and prepare you for possible local emergency situations. To advertise in this publication call (406) 447-4041 Limited Space Available