Sheep Creek Fire Exposure Fatalities 1933

The Sheep Creek Fire, burning in August 1933 in the remote and rugged Belt Mountains near Cascade, MT, employed Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) crews scattered in wilderness temporary fire camps. Three men, George Funk, Robert S. Gilmore, and Harry Halverson, embarked on an inspection tour to ensure conditions were satisfactory at these spike camps. The three reached the main camp and from there set off and arrived safely at fire camp #2. While in this camp, unnamed individuals urged the trio to remain in camp as a snow storm was intensifying. Apparently concerned about the exposed position of camp #3 and the need to check on the wellbeing of the CCC crewmembers there, they decided to push on to this last camp. Gilmore and Halverson succumbed to the elements en route, while Funk received a citation for "valiant efforts to save the lives of two companions lost in the mountains." Further details about the incident are not readily available. Gilmore was a 1st Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Reserve, assigned to the CCC camps of the area. Halverson was a local private citizen who was tasked by his employer to assist in fighting the Sheep Creek Fire. Funk was a member of the CCC. 

This information was taken from the document "CCC Members Lost in Forest Firefighting."