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Government or official record

The 1949 Mann Gulch Fire

U.S. Forest Service

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.

  1. Fires · 5 August 1949

    The Mann Gulch Fire

    Mann Gulch wildfire and smokejumper escape route · United States

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    Why editors use it here

    Federal technical reconstruction of weather, fuels, crew movement, fire behavior, and lessons.

    1. 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
    2. Trigger and conditions

      After parachuting into the gulch, the crew met guard James Harrison and approached the fire from above.

      Reviewed 26 July 2026
    3. 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
    4. Why it matters

      Mann Gulch changed wildfire safety because it made fire behavior, human perception, and organization inseparable.

      Reviewed 26 July 2026