The fire started when lightning struck the south side of Mann Gulch at the Gates of the Mountains The Gates of the Mountains Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Montana. Created by an act of Congress in 1964, the wilderness is managed by Helena National Forest. A day use campground near the Gates of the Mountains, Meriwether Picnic site, is named in honor of Meriwether Lewis.Gates of the Mountains Wilderness
What was the Mann Gulch fire?
“The Mann Gulch fire was spotted at 12:25 p.m. on August 5, 1949, a very hot and windy day. The fire was in the Gates of the Mountains Wild Area (now the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness) just east of the Missouri river, 20 miles north of Helena, MT.
Where did the Smoke Jumpers land at Mann Gulch?
The fifteen smokejumpers landed at Mann Gulch about a half-mile away from the fire. There they met James O. Harrison, a fire guard from the nearby Meriwether Canyon Campground. Ironically, Harrison had quit the smokejumpers the year before because of the danger.
How did the gates of the mountains fire start?
Sequence of events. The fire started when lightning struck the south side of Mann Gulch at the Gates of the Mountains, a canyon over five miles long that cuts through a series of 1,200 foot cliffs. The place was noted and named by Lewis and Clark on their journey west in 1805.
Is “Mann Gulch” a true story?
The version we listened to was a live recording of this song, which tells the true story of the disastrous Mann Gulch fire, which occurred 60 years ago this past August 5, (in 1949). Shindell sings this ballad about the smokejumpers in the voice of one of the only survivors of the fire, Wagner “Wag” Dodge.
What Field was born out of the Mann Gulch Fire?
In 1949, 13 smokejumpers died in Mann Gulch after being overtaken by fire. Seventy years ago today, an 18-man smokejumper crew jumped out of a plane into the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness northeast of Helena.
How did Wag Dodge survive the Mann Gulch Fire?
To escape the advancing fire, now less than 100 yards away, crew foreman R. Wagner "Wag" Dodge ordered the men to drop their equipment and run back up the steep, rocky hillside. As the men retreated, Dodge stopped to set a small escape fire, creating a burned-over area that the fire would bypass.
When was Mann Gulch Fire?
August 5, 1949Mann Gulch fire / Start dateOn August 5, 1949, a wildfire overran 16 firefight- ers in Mann Gulch on the Helena National Forest in Montana. Only three survived—the foreman and two members of an 18-man smokejumper crew that had parachuted into a small valley or gulch near the fire.
How many people died in the Mann Gulch Fire?
Type and location of accident. Men who lost their lives Survivors. On August 5, 1949, a crew of 16 firefighters, 15 of them smokejumpers, became entrapped on the Mann Gulch forest fire on the Helena National Forest in Montana. As a result, 11 men were burned to death and 2 additional men died the next day from burns.
Did the Granite Mountain Hotshots burn or suffocate?
On June 30, wildland firefighters with the Prescott Fire Department's interagency Granite Mountain Hotshots were overrun and killed by the fire.
How many people survived the Mann Gulch fire?
three survivedMann Gulch fire, 61 years ago On August 5, 1949, a wildfire overran 16 smokejumpers and firefighters in Mann Gulch on the Helena National Forest in Montana. Only three survived. The tragedy dealt a major blow to the U.S. Forest Service, which had not experienced a fatality during a decade of smokejumping.
What were the causes of the Mann Gulch disaster?
Contributing factorsSlope – Fire spreads faster up a slope, and the north slope of Mann Gulch was about a 75% incline. ... Fuel – Fire spreads fast in dry grass. ... Leadership – Smokejumpers foreman R. ... Communication – The crew's single radio broke because its parachute failed to open.More items...
What is smoke jumper mean?
: a forest firefighter who parachutes to locations otherwise difficult to reach.
How does an escape fire work?
Description. Like a backfire, an escape fire works by depriving an approaching primary fire of fuel, so that when the primary fire reaches the point where the escape fire started the primary fire cannot continue, as there is nothing there to burn.
Who is Wag Dodge?
Wag Dodge of Smokejumper fame was actually named Robert Wagner Dodge, per the Montana VR Death Index. He died Jan 12, 1955 from cancer. His nickname was "Wag". He is one of only three men who survived the Mann Gulch Fire in 1949 .
Is Cold Missouri Waters based on a true story?
For James Keelaghan — the author and composer of "Cold Missouri Waters," a song about the deadly 1949 Mann Gulch wildfire that killed 13 firefighters in Montana — it was the sound of his tune being sung by New Jersey native Richard Shindell, then part of a trio of folk artists who called themselves Cry Cry Cry.
Where is the gulch fire?
San Gabriel CanyonBasic InformationCurrent as of9/7/2022, 12:36:20 AMDate of OriginMonday August 29th, 2022 approx. 11:26 AMLocationSan Gabriel Canyon, north of Azusa, CAIncident CommanderANF Type 3Coordinates34.217 latitude, -117.859 longitude2 more rows•Aug 29, 2022
Who is Wag Dodge?
Wag Dodge of Smokejumper fame was actually named Robert Wagner Dodge, per the Montana VR Death Index. He died Jan 12, 1955 from cancer. His nickname was "Wag". He is one of only three men who survived the Mann Gulch Fire in 1949 .
How does an escape fire work?
Description. Like a backfire, an escape fire works by depriving an approaching primary fire of fuel, so that when the primary fire reaches the point where the escape fire started the primary fire cannot continue, as there is nothing there to burn.
Where is the Mann Gulch Memorial located?
The Mann Gulch memorial, installed in 1999, located at the mouth of Meriwether Canyon.
Where did the smokejumpers land?
The fifteen smokejumpers landed at Mann Gulch about a half-mile away from the fire. There they met James O. Harrison, a fire guard from the nearby Meriwether Canyon Campground. Ironically, Harrison had quit the smokejumpers the year before because of the danger.
How many smokejumpers were there in Missoula?
Responding to the fire, the Forest Service dispatched fifteen smokejumpers from Missoula to the remote area. The smokejumpers were part of a relatively new Forest Service program, with the first operational jumps having been made nine years earlier in 1940.
How many acres did the Missouri River fire cover?
Later studies estimated that the fire covered 3,000 acres in ten minutes during this blow-up stage.
Who were the two men who survived the fire?
As the massive fire overtook the group, two of the smokejumpers, Walter B. Rumsey and Robert W. Sallee, were able to find shelter by climbing inside a small crevice in the canyon's rock wall. Of the sixteen men on site, Dodge, Rumsey, and Sallee would end up as the only survivors.
Who ordered the men to drop their equipment and run back up the steep hillside?
To escape the advancing fire, now less than 100 yards away, crew foreman R. Wagner "Wag" Dodge ordered the men to drop their equipment and run back up the steep, rocky hillside. As the men retreated, Dodge stopped to set a small escape fire, creating a burned-over area that the fire would bypass.
What did the Forest Service do to help the firefighters?
The Forest Service designed new training techniques and implemented additional safety measures for its firefighters . The agency also increased emphasis on fire research and the science of fire behavior, developing new firefighting techniques and equipment in the hopes of never repeating the tragic events of August 5, 1949.
Where was the Mann Gulch fire?
The fire was in the Gates of the Mountains Wild Area (now the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness) just east of the Missouri river, 20 miles north of Helena, MT. Temperatures that day reached 97 degrees in Helena. The fire started near the top of the ridge between Mann Gulch and Meriwether Canyon. Mann Gulch is a minor drainage, leading into the Missouri River from the east. It is funnel shaped, narrowing to a width of ¼ mile at the river. The highest flanking ridge, where the fire started, is on the south side of the drainage between Mann Gulch and Meriwether Canyon . The ridge on the north side of the drainage, where the fire overran the crew, is not as high as the ridge to the south. Vegetation on the north side of Mann gulch was mature 60-to more than 100 year old ponderosa pine. The south side was covered with 15- to 50 year old Douglas Firm mixed with mature ponderosa and some mature juniper. Fronting the river was a stand of 60- to more than 80- year old Douglas-fir… Access to this roadless area is difficult. Therefore, smokejumpers were called when the fire was discovered. One of the basic tenets of fire fighting is to reach a fire quickly. Then it can be attacked while it is still small. Smokejumpers are very effective at reaching a fire quickly because they travel by airplane and use parachutes to lane near the fire.” Mann Gulch Fire: A Race That Couldn’t Be Won by Richard C. Rothermel
How to get to Mann Gulch?
The easiest way to access Mann Gulch is by boat using the Gates of the Mountains Marina, many years ago known of as Hilger Landing. Mann Gulch is approximately six miles downriver from the marina making it accessible by power boat or by canoe.
How many men jump into the gulch in the C-47?
The pilot takes the C-47 around in a large lazy circle and the next group of four men jump into the head of the gulch. He makes another round, heads down gulch and four more smokejumpers step from the plane. Another turn and the last group of three men step out into space.
What type of pines are on the north side of Mann Gulch?
Vegetation on the north side of Mann gulch was mature 60-to more than 100 year old ponderosa pine. The south side was covered with 15- to 50 year old Douglas Firm mixed with mature ponderosa and some mature juniper.
Where did the Helena fire start?
Temperatures that day reached 97 degrees in Helena. The fire started near the top of the ridge between Mann Gulch and Meriwether Canyon. Mann Gulch is a minor drainage, leading into the Missouri River from the east. It is funnel shaped, narrowing to a width of ¼ mile at the river. The highest flanking ridge, where the fire started, ...
Who said "It's a great day to fight fire"?
“It’s a great day to fight fire,” someone said as the men scattered to retrieve the supplies.” “A Great Day to Fight Fire by Mark Mathews.
Who wrote the thirteenth fire?
The Thirteenth Fire by Dave Turner. “Twenty –one year old Marvin Lester “Dick” Sherman stretched the leather straps of his helmet under his chin and threaded the buckles on the collar of his jump jacket. From his seat along the side of the Doug, he nervously glanced at the open door.
What was Mann Gulch's birthday?
Mann Gulch (Montana) – August 5, 1949. This Day in History is a brief summary of a powerful learning opportunity and is not intended to second guess or be judgmental of decisions and actions.
How did the foreman survive the fire?
The foreman stayed in his black and survived the fire passing over. It is not clear how many of the crew heard the orders over the roar of the fire or understood what the foreman was trying to do (burning out was neither taught nor common practice at this time). The crew continued running up the steep slope for the ridge. Two made it to safety in rocks at the top. The time marked on one firefighter’s watch was 1756. It stopped when the 15 Missoula Smokejumpers and one Meriwether Fire Guard were burned over. Only five would survive the blow-up. Two would die from their burns the next day.
How many acres were burned in Helena National Forest?
At 1255 August 5 th, the fire was observed at six acres. At 1330 the call went out for smokejumpers from the Missoula jump base. By the time the jump plane flew over at 1500, the fire was 60 acres. The crew jumped and were scattered by a nearby thunder cell.
How to hold a fire on a ridge?
Based on initial aerial size-up, the strategy was to hold the fire on the ridge by anchoring the head of the fire and flanking down both sides to the toe. The fire was noted as “appearing relatively quiet.”
Was the foreman known by the smokejumpers?
Though his ability as a firefighter was well respected by his peers, the foreman was not known by this young group of smokejumpers.
When was the fire in Mann Gulch?
Where the fire burned in Mann Gulch, August 1949.
Who was the first person to study Mann Gulch?
Dave wrote the report, joined the Forest Service, and worked his way up from fighting fires to analyzing them to managing fire programs throughout Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah. He was the first person to take firefighters to study Mann Gulch, back in 1994, and, this May, he agreed to take me.
What time did Dodge send the men downhill?
The work bears less resemblance to putting out house fires than it does to digging ditches. By 5 p.m. , the men were ready. Dodge sent them downhill to fight the fire from below, with the river at their backs in case they needed to retreat. Meanwhile, he crossed the canyon to scout the blaze head-on.
