UPDATE AT 2:55 MT, August 2
We received an email last night from Susan Schroedel who said:
Bob Sallee will NOT be in attendance at the 60th anniversary of the Mann Gulch fire. My husband and I spoke with him two days ago. My husband and many other former jumpers will be in attendance.
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From the Independent Record, Helena, MT:
One of the survivors from the 1949 Mann Gulch fire, Bob Sallee, will be at the Meriwether picnic area Aug. 2-5 as part of ceremonies commemorating the 60th anniversary of the deadly blaze.
On Aug. 5, 1949, a wildfire trapped 15 smokejumpers and a fire guard in Mann Gulch, near the Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River. Before it was controlled, the fire took the lives of 13 men and burned nearly 5,000 acres.
The Helena National Forest, along with the National Smokejumpers Association, will be at the nearby Meriwether picnic area with informal interpretive programs highlighting the Mann Gulch Fire, impacts the Mann Gulch tragedy has had on firefighting techniques and smokejumping and the associated equipment.
Four smokejumpers — Sallee, John McKinnon, Carl Gidland and Roland Anderson — also will be at the Meriwether picnic area to speak to people about Mann Gulch, current and historic fire fighting techniques and much more.
For more information about the event, contact the Helena Ranger District office at 449-5490.
