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Lolo Hot Springs Fire Entrapment 1917

  • Location:

    Montana
  • Date:

    08/24/1917
  • Incident Type:

    Entrapment
  • Description:

    A lightning-caused fire on the Lolo National Forest in Montana was nearly contained when strong winds caused it to escape its lines and advance in multiple places, causing at least two large entrapments. US Forest Service Ranger A. N. Thayer's crew of 70 firefighters was forced to take refuge in a creek as the fire passed over them, and several firefighters received burn injuries and two were hurt by falling trees. the entrapment in the creek bed lasted about two hours, and the firefighters regularly threw mud and water around themselves to keep flames at bay. A firefighter named Victor Vianen suffered a broken arm from a falling tree limb. Vianen's injuries were serious enough to receive a government pension from the Forest Service as a result.

    Elsewhere on the fire, a large camp of 300 firefighters was burned over, forcing the men to escape. Gus Stalberg suffered serious burn injuries and was taken to Missoula for treatment. Stalberg's rescuers informed the media that one man in the Lolo Hot Springs area was known to have died in the entrapment, but if that is accurate, the name of the deceased and the circumstances of their death are not available. 

    A River Runs Through It author Norman Maclean's short story "The Black Ghost" likely refers to his entrapment and near miss on this fire, in the vicinity of Fish Creek. 

    Entrapment, Burn Injury