Sullivan Creek Fire Fatalities 1929

Paul Croxton and Lester Rudd were assigned to the Sullivan Creek Fire near Spotted Bear on the Flathead National Forest when the fire made a sudden, significant run. An officer with the Flathead National Forest was leading their crew to safety when the men disappeared. The fire run necessitated the evacuation of fire camps. In the ensuing confusion, these two men were unaccounted for. Three weeks later, Rudd's body was located on a gravel bar of the South Fork of the Flathead River. It was determined that he did not die of burns. However, his precise cause of death was not determined and was speculated to be either from exposure or ingestion of superheated gases. Paul Croxton, from media reports published as late as December 1929, had still not been located.

Unknown, Fatality, Fire Behavior, Hand Crews