Smokejumpers

It was 70 years ago, August 5, 1949 that 13 firefighters perished in the Mann Gulch Fire north of Helena just off the Missouri River after parachuting into the area from the C-47 aircraft that is now the Miss Montana.

The crew of the ‘Miss Montana’, the C-47 smokejumper aircraft landed safely in Great Britain on Tuesday as they prepare for the 75th anniversary flight over the English Channel to commemorate the D-Day invasion in World War II.

Wildland firefighters from Missoula and other parts of Montana are headed north of the border to assist with efforts in battling blazes in the province of Alberta, Canada.

Montana Congressman Steve Daines received a one-on-one tour of the U.S. Forest Service Smokejumper Center at the Missoula International Airport on Monday afternoon.