Beyond the military, Grizzlies have stepped up to serve their country through the U.S. Forest Service as highly-skilled wildland firefighters, called smokejumpers. Smokejumpers are expert firefighters who are trained to parachute from planes to fight wildfires in remote areas. Missoula is considered by many to be the birthplace of smokejumping, and over the years many Grizzlies have served with the Missoula smokejumpers to protect our forests and communities from the threat of wildfire.
Earl Cooley, a 1941 graduate of the University of Montana, was a member of the first trained group of smokejumpers. Still a student, on July 12, 1940 Earl and Rufus Robinson made the first forest fire jump in American history on the Martin Creek Fire in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Idaho, about 30 miles west of Missoula. Cooley went on to have a long and successful career with the Forest Service, rising to superintendent of the Missoula smokejumper base and founding the National Smokejumper Association. Cooley was a smokejumping pioneer. remembered not only as a pioneer of smokejumping, but as a shining example of the University of Montana’s legacy of service.
In 1984, a group of University of Montana students interviewed dozens of Smokejumpers and support personnel. They described training, jump experiences, and changes in equipment and policies from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. Listen to the interviews here: Smokejumpers Oral History Project.
Earl Cooley, a 1941 graduate of the University of Montana, was a member of the first trained group of smokejumpers. Still a student, on July 12, 1940 Earl and Rufus Robinson made the first forest fire jump in American history on the Martin Creek Fire in Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Idaho, about 30 miles west of Missoula. Cooley went on to have a long and successful career with the Forest Service, rising to superintendent of the Missoula smokejumper base and founding the National Smokejumper Association. Cooley was a smokejumping pioneer. remembered not only as a pioneer of smokejumping, but as a shining example of the University of Montana’s legacy of service.
In 1984, a group of University of Montana students interviewed dozens of Smokejumpers and support personnel. They described training, jump experiences, and changes in equipment and policies from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. Listen to the interviews here: Smokejumpers Oral History Project.
Pioneer smokejumper and member of the University of Montana Class of 1941, Earl Cooley, wears a Montana Grizzlies t-shirt on duty.
Smokejumpers wear helmets with mesh face masks to protect their faces from branches when landing in dense forests. Boxes full of key supplies like food, water, and an ax-like tool called a Pulaski are also dropped to support the smokejumper.
A Smokejumper leaps from a plane near Lolo, Montana. With steep terrain and dense, tall trees, it takes precision and skill for smokejumpers to land safely.
Aerial drops allow Smokejumpers to reach small fires like this one before they are able to start larger and more destructive wildfires.