Pilgrim Creek Fire Hit by Tree Fatality 1931

On August 25, 1931, 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 Helm's body five 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 this fatal accident occurred. Helm's cause of death is listed as: "Accidental death by tree falling, fracturing skull and crushing chest."

Hit by Tree, Fatality, Hand Crews