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A lightning strike starts the Blackwater Fire of 1937 in Shoshone National Forest, killing 15 firefighters within three days and prompting the United States Forest Service to develop their smokejumper program.
Related Wikipedia articles
Blackwater Fire of 1937
Fire in Shoshone National Forest
On August 18, 1937, a lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody, Wyoming, United States. Fifteen firefighters were killed by the forest fire when a dry weather front caused the winds to suddenly increase…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Shoshone National Forest
National Forest in Wyoming, US
Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km2) in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
United States Forest Service
Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office,…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Smokejumper
Skydiving wildland firefighters
A smokejumper is a specially-trained wildland firefighter who provides an initial attack response on remote wildfires. They are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute. This allows firefighters to access remote fires in their early stages without needing to hike long…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
August 18
Day of the year
August 18 is the 230th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 135 days remain until the end of the year.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)