Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Fires · 5 August 1949Open article references →
The Mann Gulch Fire
Mann Gulch wildfire and smokejumper escape route · United States
Why editors use it hereNorman Maclean's evidence-driven literary investigation of people, terrain, timing, and memory.
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Quick read
On 5 August 1949, fifteen Forest Service smokejumpers and a local fire guard confronted a small wildfire in Mann Gulch.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Trigger and conditions
After parachuting into the gulch, the crew met guard James Harrison and approached the fire from above.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Uncertainty
Exact fire speed, timing, shouted instructions, and each jumper's path were reconstructed from three survivors, fire evidence, and later experiments.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Why it matters
Mann Gulch changed wildfire safety because it made fire behavior, human perception, and organization inseparable.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Quick read