Missoula Smokejumper Visitor Center
The Smokejumper Visitor Center is currently: Open for school groups by appointment.Summer Hours: Beginning May 26, 202510:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day (May 26 through September 5, 2025).Tours:Learn what smokejumpers are, how they fight wildfires in North America and the history of the smokejumper program. See exhibits about wildland firefighting and how…
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Questions and Answers
What is smokejumping?Smokejumping was developed as a means of quickly reaching, parachuting to, and initial attacking fires in remote roadless areas.The primary mission of smokejumpers is firefighting. Smokejumpers may be delivered to a fire via helicopter, vehicles, and by foot. Smokejumpers are a national resource and occasionally used as a 20-person Type 1 Crew.Region 1 maintains a force of…
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Missoula Smokejumpers - Employment
What We’re Looking For
Smokejumpers come from all over the country and from many different backgrounds. Several common characteristics of successful smokejumpers include a high level of motivation, a ood work ethic, excellent physical fitness, a passion to protect and restore public lands, and a willingness to challenge themselves and others.
MINIMUM work experience must include:
Qualifying…
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Bob Sallee's Notes
It is a great privilege to participate in this dedication. I would like to be able to tell you a lot more about the men we are honoring today but in 1949 we trained in 4-man squads. Although you were a speaking acquaintance to most of the fellows, you only really got to know people outside your squad if you were sent out on project work together.Although first-year jumpers made 7 practice jumps,…
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Mann Gulch
What we see before us is nature's progress over the past 42 years in healing a 5,000 acre wildfire. In the Forest's, surrounding Helena, 5,000 acre wildfires are not terribly uncommon. We have experienced a number of much larger fires just in the past decade. However, this particular fire, one that was ignited by a lightning storm on August 4, 1949, left scars that will last a lifetime. It…
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Operation Firefly & the 555th
The 555th was formed in November 1943 as an all-black Army paratroop unit at Fort Benning, Georgia under the command of 1st Lt. James H. Porter. It was expanded to full battalion size November 1944 at Camp Mackall, North Carolina.In April 1945 the 555th was assigned as a 300-man smokejumper Component of a larger 2,700 person military effort group assigned to Operation Fire Fly in US Forest…