Aug. 5—Events continue Monday in Helena in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Mann Gulch fire and the 13 firefighters who died Aug. 5, 1949.
A mural commissioned by the city of Helena by artist Elise Perpignano in honor of the fire that was north of Helena will be dedicated at the Lyndale Tunnel.
The ceremony will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday and will feature comments by Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, Chiara Cipriano with the U.S. Forest Service and the muralist. The event will be at the northside of the tunnel, which runs beneath West Lyndale Avenue.
The project originated as a proposal from the Helena Public Art Committee.
A formal memorial will be held on the Montana State Capitol’s west lawn from 4-7 p.m. Monday. Wreaths dedicated to the fire guard and 12 smokejumpers who died in the fire will be on display.
John N. Maclean, son of Norman Maclean who wrote “Young Men and Fire,” will give a speech and Gov. Greg Gianforte and Forest Service leadership will give remarks.
Weather permitting, Miss Montana, the plane that flew the smokejumpers who died, will fly over the Capitol.
The Capitol is at 1301 W. 6th Ave. Attendees should park in the nearby CVS/Safeway parking lot and take the Last Chance Tour Train as a free public transport to the Capitol. The train will make trips between Safeway parking lot and the west side of the Capitol Building 4-5 p.m.
The Montana Discovery Foundation collaborated with Wild Montana, the National Smokejumper Association, the Forest Fire Lookout Association, the Montana Historical Society and the Museum of Mountain Flying to put on several days of events for the 75th anniversary.
More information can be found at https://www.montanadiscoveryfoundation.org/manngulch75/.
Memorical photo portraits of 13 US Forest Service smoker jumpers who died in the Mann Gulch Fire, August 1949.
___
(c)2024 the Independent Record (Helena, Mont.)
Visit the Independent Record (Helena, Mont.) at www.helenair.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
