The plane that dropped 15 smokejumpers into one of the most infamous firefighting tragedies in U.S. history once again flew over the rugged Montana gulch along the Missouri River on Monday to mark the 70th anniversary of the fire.
The C-47 now called Miss Montana dropped 13 wreaths, one for each firefighter killed in the blaze that caused the U.S. Forest Service to rethink its fire training, safety and research. Dozens of people gathered upstream from the site and took photos of the flyover.
On Aug. 5, 1949, the same plane carried 15 smokejumpers based in Missoula who parachuted into the gulch to fight a small fire that had been caused by a lightning strike. They were joined by a 16th firefighter, a fire guard for the Helena National Forest whose post was nearby.