Pilgrim Creek Fire Hit by Tree Fatality 1931

On August 25, firefighter Ray Helm was struck and instantly killed by a snag on the Pilgrim Creek Fire near Noxon, Montana. A fellow firefighter used his heavy wool coat to construct a stretcher, and a group of firefighters carried the body of Ray Helm carried 5 miles to a road in Noxon. Helm's death certificate lists his date of death as August 31, but does not indicate that he received an autopsy; his death may have been reported to the coroner days after the accident itself. His cause of death is listed as: "Accidental death by tree falling fracturing skull and crushing chest."

Hit by Tree, Fatality, Hand Crews