Smokejumper Base; McCall, Idaho; ca. 1948. Building on left is parachute maintenance building (loft not visible). Middle building is barracks. Building on right is fire cache. Photo courtesy of A. Glen "Ace" Nielsen.

Through this meeting the Idaho Oral History Center began interviewing in October 1999 four of those former smokejumpers. While the project initially focused on individuals who jumped from the McCall camp during the 1940s, it has expanded to include not only smokejumpers of the 1950s to the 1990s but also other forest fire fighters and support personnel. As of March 2002, the IOHC has recorded the stories, memories, and opinions of 30 different men and women who helped suppress or manage blazes in the forests of not only Idaho but also forests throughout the U.S. West. We have called this endeavor our "Smokejumping and Forest Fire Fighting Oral History Project."

During this project, the oral historian heard many more stories from these individuals. But more than just tales, these people talked about various aspects of forestry and forest fire fighting. Some of the topics included the following: prescribed burning, aerial retardant drops, the "10 a.m. Policy," the troubles faced by the United States Forest Service regarding fire management, and the importance of lookouts. Along with these issues, these men and women talked about specific forest fires

Deadwood Fire: started on August 1987 from a lightning strike about 1.5 miles east of Deadwood Summit Road on the Lowman Ranger District of the Boise National Forest. Photo and caption courtesy of Bert Strom.

throughout the last fifty years; blazes that burned sections of the Boise, Nez Perce, Payette, Salmon-Challis, and the Sawtooth National Forests (as well as other national forests in Idaho and other states in the country). Since some of these firefighters served our country during three twentieth-century wars (World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam), this oral history collection also can furnish their memories of these conflicts.

These 30 narrators merely scratch the surface of the thousands of men and women in Idaho, and throughout the U.S. West, who have fought fire during the summers in Idaho's lands throughout the 20th century. For example, we only interviewed two women and did not meet with fire fighters outside of the USFS (except for those fire fighters who battled blazes for the Bureau of Land Management after leaving the USFS). We offer this collection for the public's edification, giving them the opportunity to hear and/or read the stories, comments, and opinions of these people. We hope that it stimulates others to conduct oral history interviews with other men and women who have served our country by battling the flames, and we would gladly provide any advice and support to anyone interested in interviewing more forest fire fighters.

The interviewing for this project has concluded. At this point we foresee adding no more additional narrators. The collection is fully processed--meaning tape(s), indexes, and a typed transcript for each narrator's interview(s).

1947 McCall Smokejumpers. Back row, L-R: Clifford Wise; Dee Guilford; Jack Elliot; J.Charles Blanton; Edwin Bixby; Louie Larrinaga; James Graham; Robert Garrett; Kenneth Axelson; Harry Morrison; Glen Youngblood; Richard Peterson; Terell Siepert; John Rinard; James Stover. Front row, L-R: S. Lloyd Johnson; Wayne Webb; Dan Yergenson; H.P. "Dick" Wilcomb; Marvin Bertram; Roger Davidson; George Schreiber; James Paris; Leo Compton; Bernie Nielsen; Del Catlin; Charles Clark; Burton Lenker; Lyle Rogers; Seymour Peterson. Photo courtesy of A. Glen "Ace" Nielsen.

List of Narrators

What follows is a list of narrators for our Smokejumping and Forest Fire Fighting Oral History Project. We would like to offer some explanation of the following list. First, by clicking on the Narrator's Name, one can read the tape summary and names and places indexes for his or her interview. Second, by clicking on the links under Audio Clips, you can listen to one or two brief (45 seconds to 2.5 minutes) sound clips from his or her interview. Third, some interviews have no "OH number" or a zero in the "Length of transcript" column. Those omissions mean that our office specialist has not transcribed those interviews. As mentioned in an above paragraph, we endeavor to transcribe all interviews by later in 2002. One more thing, in the Subject columns the acronym USFS stands for the United States Forest Service.

To view the indexes listed under the narrator's name, you'll need Adobe Reader. If you don't have this program, click here for a free download.

To play audio clips, you'll need an audio player. If your computer does not have one already installed, click here for a free download of Windows Media Player 7.1.

OH Number	Narrator's Name	Audio Clips (Excerpts from 45 seconds to 2 minutes in length)	Subject 1	Subject 2	Subject 3	Minutes of complete interview	Length of Transcript
1458	Robert "Spike" Baker	1949 Fire Season Changes in fire fighting	USFS--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	Forest Fire Management--Idaho	85	43
1450	J. Charles Blanton	First Jump Pack String	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	McCall (Idaho)	105	44
1451	Leo Compton	Pack Saddle Fire Shafer Butte Lookout	Smokejumping--Idaho--	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	McCall (Idaho)	60	32
1756	Leo Cromwell	Rookie Smokejumper "Ned" Non-fire work	Smokejumping--Idaho	Idaho City (Idaho)	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	175	75
1883	H. Gene Crosby	Broken foot Hells Canyon	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--New Mexico	McCall (Idaho)	250	105
1580	Roger (Rod) Davidson	Hunts Gulch Fire Salmon City	Smokejumping--Idaho	Boise (Idaho)	McCall (Idaho)	170	91
1981	Harold Eshelman	Lookouts Retardant drop	USFS--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	Boise National Forest (Idaho)	165	32, 28
1469	Jeff Fereday	"Big Flip" San Gabriel Mountains Fire, CA	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Alaska	McCall (Idaho)	375	163
1454	Bud Filler	Food Smokejumper Training	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	McCall (Idaho)	70	39
1465	Ken Hessel	Cat Creek Fire "Ned" training	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects--Idaho	USFS--Idaho	180	71
1853	Elmer Huston	Horses and mules	USFS--Idaho	Boise National Forest (Idaho)	Forest Fires--Idaho	100	55
1853	Wilma Huston	Lookout	USFS--Idaho	Boise National Forest (Idaho)	Forest Fires--Idaho	100	55
1477	Reid Jackson	Allen Roll, part 1 Allen Roll, part 2	USFS--Idaho	Smokejumping--Idaho	McCall (Idaho)	105	43
1466	Tommy "Shep" Johnson	"Guttenmitten" Keep in touch with other smokejumpers	Smokejumping--Idaho	Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975--Laos	Korean War, 1950-1953--US Marines	175	63
1467a	Ted Koskella	Smokechaser	USFS--US West	Forest Fires--Idaho	World War II, 1939-1945	60	32
1467b	Ted and Joy Koskella	Ranger's wife	USFS--US West	Forest Fires--Idaho	(none)	30	17
1880	John Krebs	Fire behavior Prescribed burning	USFS--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	Forestry--Proscribed Burning--Idaho	140	57
1457	Jim Larkin	Pilot's job Retire in 1978	Aviation--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	USFS--Idaho	150	64
1817	Dale Matlack	Infrared Liquid fire line	Forest Fires--Aerial Suppression--U.S. West	USFS--US West	(none)	60	26
1979	Gene McVey	First fire Sixteen-year-old	Forest Fires--Idaho	Twin Falls (Idaho)	Ketchum (Idaho)	95	33
1851	Robert Montoya	First jump Teaching other smokejumpers	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	Idaho City (Idaho)	150	72
1882	Larry Moore	"Alfalfa" Silver City, NM	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	Smokejumping--New Mexico	105	56
1449	Bernie Nielsen	Lost his shirt "Cumulus Overtimus"	Smokejumping--Idaho	Smokejumping--Social Aspects	McCall (Idaho)	55	24
1463	Glen "Ace" Nielsen	"Ace" Hells Canyon Fire	Smokejumping--Idaho	World War II, 1939-1945--US Navy	Smokejumping--Social Aspects--Idaho	110	48
1706	Don Reed	How to get to fire Project fire	Idaho City (Idaho)	USFS--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	155	63
1455	Gordon Stevens	July 4th Fire (ca. 1955) Payette NF 1994	Forestry--US West	USFS--US West	Forest Fires--US West	75	33
1980	Bert Strom	Learn by experience Fighting fire "online"	USFS--Idaho	Forest Fires--Idaho	Forestry--Idaho	230	36, 37, 29
1464a-g	Stan Tate	First view of smokejumpers "Smokejumping chaplain"	Boise State College--History--Sources	Smokejumping--Idaho	Boise (Idaho)	515	260
1452	R.P. (Dick) Wilcomb	Thirteenth jump	Smokejumping--Idaho	Boise (Idaho)	McCall (Idaho)	60	35
1982	Woody Williams	Anthony Lakes Fire, OR "Busy work"	USFS--Oregon	Forest Fires--Oregon	NIFC (Boise, Idaho)	160	34, 36

Contact Information Cliff Creek Fire (Idaho Primitive Area); July 27, 1974. [Note: Taylor Ranch visible below.] L-R: Spence Webber, Jeff Fereday, Mike Cook, Steve Mello, Jerry Dixon, Gary Johnson. Photo by Jerry Dixon, courtesy of Jeff Fereday. Researchers and interested individuals can contact the Idaho Oral History Center (IOHC) for more information. They can also visit the Idaho State Historical Society Library. Click here for the Library's hours of operation and location. Clicking here can access contact information for the IOHC. People interested in the collection can visit the IOHC on Mondays (except for state-sponsored holidays), but only by appointment.