Firefighter safety remains paramount

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire that tragically killed 13 of 16 smokejumpers who were sent into the Gates of the Mountains near Helena on Aug. 5, 1949. It remains among the deadliest days in the history of this elite class of aerial firefighters.

What started as a small fire in the steep and rocky gulch instantly turned into an inescapable wall of flames fanned by 40 mph gusts that consumed some 3,000 acres in a matter of minutes. It’s a miracle that three men survived the inferno that was described by fire researcher Richard Rothermel as “a race that couldn’t be won.” 

“Probably the most dangerous influence was the wind,” Rothermel wrote. “The fire could have covered 100 yards in less than a minute.” 

Fortunately, fire managers today credit many best practices and advancements in safety technology as stemming from the lessons learned at Mann Gulch. 

As detailed in today’s front-page story, standards now require fire crews to have established escape plans and safety zones before parachuting onto an incident, and to make sure there are always clear lines of communication.  

There’s also a better understanding of fire behavior and how weather plays a critical role in how firefighters attack different scenarios. Crews also carry better safety gear, like personal fire shelters, for worst-case scenarios. 

Rothermel concluded in his research that the procedures and safety equipment made mandatory in the aftermath of Mann Gulch were directly responsible for saving the lives of 73 firefighters caught in the 1985 Butte Fire near Salmon, Idaho. In that incident, the crew took refuge in individual shelters for up to two hours while a crown fire burned around them. No one died and only a handful were injured. According to Rothermel, without the protection of the safety zones and the reflective fire shelters now carried by all firefighters, at least 60, if not all, of the firefighters would have died. 

Estimates suggest the shelters have saved more than 300 firefighters since becoming required equipment in 1977. 

Still, other tragedies have followed Mann Gulch, each standing as a stark reminder of the risk wildland firefighters are subject to on every incident. 

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the Granite Mountain Hotshots tragedy in Arizona where 19 firefighters were overrun by flames and died. And this year marks 30 years since a wildfire in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains took the lives of 14 firefighters. 

On Monday, family members of the Mann Gulch smokejumpers will gather in Helena to remember the young men lost too soon, including two from Kalispell. While we reflect on their sacrifice, it’s important to also celebrate the advancements in safety policy and procedures that followed this tragedy and the need to continually work for improved firefighter safety.