Goodell Creek Fire Hit by Tree Fatality 1927

Louis Eugene Florence, an 18-year-old from Bellingham, Washington, was struck by a tree while performing assistant cook duties on the Goodell Creek Fire near Newhalem. Florence was employed on the fire by the Mt. Baker National Forest and went out from fire camp to cut firewood for camp use with a group of three others. As Florence cut a large tree, the other men acted as trail guards, assuring no other firefighters passed that way during the tree felling. After the tree fell, Louis Florence could not be found. Search parties looked under the the felled tree, in the immediate vicinity, and back at fire camp, but could not find Florence. After hours, they speculated he may have left the area for home. Only the next morning did another intensive search find Florence's body completely hidden by the large tree during the fourth search under the tree. Both of Florence's brothers were also employed by the Forest Service to fight the Goodell Creek Fire. 

This area of the Mt. Baker NF is now part of North Cascades National Park.