Montana News
Group plans memorial events for Mann Gulch Fire's 75th anniversary
August 5 marks the 75th anniversary of the Man Gulch Fire, which shifted the way fires are fought to this day. The Montana Discovery Foundation will host a series of events and remembrance. The Man Gulch Fire in 1949 started on the Helena National Forest. The fire is estimated to have grown 3,000 acres in about 10 minutes. Only three of the 15 smoke jumpers that dropped into the fire survived. The fire changed how the Forest Service thinks about wildfire management and how firefighters work on the ground. Kiara Kipriano is the public affairs officer at the Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest. Things like the 10 standard firefighting orders were created and this is, you know, on a pocket guide that firefighters carry around with them in the field. The Forest Service has continued that work with several fire science labs to study all things wildfire and inform best firefighting practices. The Montana Discovery Foundation will be holding events in remembrance from Saturday the 3rd to Monday the 5th. Further information can be found at mtpr.org. In Missoula, I'm Eleanor Smith.