Missoula, MT – During our first RV trip in 2012, we were staying in Loveland, Colorado when the High Park wildfire broke out. We stayed in the area for about a week and were able to see and smell the smoke. We watched on the news as the fire spread in the area west and north of the Horsetooth Reservoir. The following year we moved to Franktown, Colorado and lived about 10 miles north of the Black Forest Fire’s northern most edge.
The High Park Fire began June 9, 2012. This was taken near our RV Park
The Black Forest Fire was about 10 miles from our house in June 2013, taken from our driveway
We’ve been in the area of other wildfires such as the Reynold’s Creek Fire at Glacier National Park in 2015, and the McHugh Creek Fire south of Anchorage in 2016. We have gained a healthy respect for wildfire and the destruction it can leave in its path.
Aftermath of the Reynold’s Fire in Glacier National Park
Another view from the Reynold’s Fire Area
Through the years, the views on managing wildfires have shifted as we’ve learned that fire is necessary for the life cycle of a forest. The current practice is to prevent fires from damaging structures, property damage, and taking human life. The hard work goes to the firefighters. Most wildfires are started by lightning strikes. Sometimes the lightning strikes occur in rugged country that is difficult to access. When this happens, the brave firefighters who are there to manage the wildfires are the smokejumpers. Smokejumpers parachute into an area where a wildfire is located. Their supplies are air dropped nearby and they are on the ground to prevent the fire from spreading.
I first became interested in learning about smokejumpers during our 2015 trip to the Gates of the Mountains Recreation Area of the Helena National Forest located northwest of Helena, Montana. We took a boat ride through the canyon, which included a stop at the bottom of Mann Gulch, the site of a terrible tragedy.
Our boat tour of the Missouri River through Gates of the Mountains Recreation Area of Helena National Forest took us near the location of the Mann Gulch Fire
This information board along the Missouri River marks the bottom of the canyon
I wanted to learn more about this tragedy, so I read Norman Maclean’s (author of A River Runs Through It) posthumous nonfictional Young Men and Fire. He was very interested in this incident as he grew up in Montana and spent some early years working for the forest service. On August 5, 1949, a lightning caused wildfire trapped a smokejumper crew in the steep Mann Gulch canyon. Thirteen firefighters died during the fire’s blowup, 12 of them smokejumpers. This disaster, the worst in smokejumper history, directly led to the establishment of modern safety standards used by all wildland firefighters.
The Mann Gulch Area
Smokejumping was first tested in the United States in Utah in 1934. It was next tested in Washington state’s Methow Valley in 1939, when parachutists were dropped into various terrain, proving the viability of the idea. The first forest service employee jumper was Francis Lufkin. In 1940, two permanent jump operations were set up. They were located in Winthrop, Washington and Nine Mile Camp, about 30 miles northwest of Missoula, Montana. The Nine Mile Camp unit moved their operations to Missoula in subsequent years and became the Missoula Smokejumper Base. The Winthrop location stayed at its original location and became known as the North Cascades Smokejumper Base. The birthplace of smokejumping continues to be argued among these two bases.
The Missoula Smokejumpers Loft building
The Smokejumper Visitor Center is located in Missoula, Montana at 5765 W. Broadway Street. It is on the campus with the Missoula Smokejumpers. The Visitor Center is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day 7 days a week from 8:30am to 5:00pm. Guided tours of the jump base are offered 6 times daily at 10 and 11am and 1, 2, 3 and 4pm. The guided tour is 45 minutes to an hour and takes visitors through the working facility of the smokejumpers. Both the Visitor Center and the tour are free. Donations are accepted.
In the Smokejumper Visitor Center, there are displays explaining firefighter procedures, smoke jumping history, and other fire related issues. There is an actual fire lookout from 1937 that visitors can enter. There are several short educational videos and displays of gear.
A 1937 fire lookout
Smokejumpers gear for the parachuting. Their suit is made of Kevlar and is padded, which helps with flotation if they land in water. They carry a 150 foot rope (right lower leg pocket) for use to get down if they land in a tree.
On the ground clothing is made from flame retardant Nomex
We took the guided tour which takes visitors into the Loft, the working facility of the smokejumpers. There are 75 smokejumpers based out of Missoula, one of nine crews nationwide and one of the largest. There are 400 smokejumpers nationwide. Candidates must have a minimum of 2 years experience fighting fires. Most candidates have 5-10 years fire fighting experience when applying. Our tour was led by Tia, who explained the areas within the facility. We started in the sewing room, where we learned that smokejumpers make their own gear (clothing, jumpsuits, gearbags, etc). Because there are such a small number of smokejumpers nationwide, it does not make fiscal sense for a company to make their highly specialized gear. Gear is made during off-peak times and by smokejumpers on base who are waiting to be dispatched. The only item they don’t make on site are the parachutes.
The smokejumper sew room, where they make their own gear
We next entered the parachute inspecting room. After each use or 180 days of being packed, each parachute is fully opened and inspected in this room which contains an extensive pulley system. After inspection, parachutes are packed and stored for use. Parachute packers receive extra specialized training. Their final test includes packing 20 parachutes which are checked closely by the trainer. Then they pack their 21st parachute with which they themselves then parachute.
Parachute hanging room
All of the pulleys are labelled
They completely inspect each parachute after each use or 180 days of being packed
We looked at the gear packing room next. Each gear box is designed to hold gear for two jumpers and includes 2 sleeping bags, food and special fire shelters. Chainsaws, Pulaski, and other tools are packed for air drop.
Gear is packed in the cargo room
The tour stopped by the control room, where the board shows which smokejumpers are out on assignment at what fires and the chronological list of who is dispatched next. Upon return to the base, the smokejumpers names are added back to the bottom of the list and then move up as others are dispatched. The control person said that their busiest time of year is July 4 to September. They currently had teams in Alaska, California, and New Mexico.
The lockerroom where the smokejumpers put their gear on before getting on the plane
We walked through the locker room where smokejumpers prepare to leave on their missions. From the time the alarm sounds, the jumpers take about 2 minutes to get their gear on. The plane is located right outside of this room and typically leaves within 10 minutes of the alarm with reports of that time being as low as within 6 minutes! The base is co-located with Missoula’s commercial airport, i.e. they share a runway. All commercial flights are temporarily held so that the smokejumper planes can depart quickly. We went outside to see the plane and then returned to the Visitor Center where the guided portion ended. We visited here while staying at the Missoula KOA.
Smokejumper plane
