St. Helena and the Smoke Jumpers

Today's blog title is not the name of a rock band, although it sounds like it could be one!

Friday we made two sightseeing stops along our drive. The first stop was at St. Helena Cathedral in Helena, MT. St. Helena was the mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great. Constantine was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, and in so doing, he ceased the Christian persecutions that had been taking place. 

The St. Helena Cathedral was under construction, so we couldn't get a good picture of the front. So I am borrowing a picture from the church's website, and then adding a few of our own from the side entrance and inside the Cathedral.

Picture from website

Side entrance to St. Helena Cathedral

We were fortunate to be there while Adoration was taking place, and it was nice and peaceful to spend a few moments in silent prayer.

The Cathedral has some really large stained glass windows.

There was a small side chapel to the left of the altar.

And a beautiful statue of the Holy Family on the lower level.

After leaving Helena, we continued driving west toward Missoula. By this time, we were in the northern Rocky Mountains. We passed over the Continental Divide at MacDonald Pass.

This picture shows a snow fence, which was a very common sight.

Our second sightseeing stop of the day was at the Smokejumper Museum and Visitor Center in Missoula, MT. 

Okay, now I guess you're asking, what is Smokejumping. It sounds like a fun activity, like bunjee jumping. But it's actually a very serious occupation. The smoke jumpers are the ones who fight forest fires. It started in 1940 when they were looking for an efficient way to fight the fires, given that it was taking so long to get to the fire deep inside the forest. The idea is to have the jumpers parachute out of a plane into the forest near the fires. We took a tour and visited the offices of the smoke jumpers. We learned about the material that the clothing that the smoke jumpers wear to fight fires is made of. Also of interest: all the smoke jumpers have to make their own clothing. There was a large room with industrial size sewing machines, and all the jumpers have to learn how to sew and make their own clothing as well as their parachute harness. One man on the tour asked how they test the harness. He said I assume they don't just say "Well, this looks like it will work." He was correct. They have licensed agents who test all the parachute harnesses to make sure they will hold up.

The Sewing Room

   

Fire fighter clothing

The jumpers don't make their own parachutes but they do have to fold them.

Smoke Jumpers folding parachutes

Mainly the smoke jumpers hang out in the office, sewing and folding, until an alarm sounds indicating that there is a forest fire. Then they swing into action. They put on their fireproof clothing, parachute harness, two parachutes - one on their back and then a backup chute that they wear around their waist - boots, helmet, etc. They have to be ready within 10 minutes of when the alarm sounds.

In the office, there is a map showing the location of forest fires, and which planes are being used.

After getting dressed, the jumpers go outside to a plane which holds 10 jumpers. The plane is already loaded with food and gear. There are large boxes that hold enough food for 2 people for 3 days. Someone asked if they could choose what food they would like to bring, and the answer was no. So they have to sew their own clothing but can't choose their own food. 

Boxes containing food; other supplies on shelves

   

Plane, holds 10 jumpers plus much gear

The plane drops the smoke jumpers in the forest near the fire. The plane then makes another round and drops off food and supplies. The jumpers work 10 hours a day and usually are able to contain the fire the first day. They don't completely put out the fire unless homes are nearby, but they control the size of the fire. They like to do a controlled burn, because a fire serves to rejuvenate the forest. Sometimes they even start the fires, but most fires are caused by lightning. (Interesting fact: in the west, most fires are caused by lightning; in the east, most fires are caused by people.) If the fire is really dangerous, sometimes they use a plane to drop fire retardant.

Plane used for fire retardant

The smoke jumper offices are located next to the airport, so they use the same runways as the Missoula airport.

 After the fire is either out or under control, the smoke jumpers then have to hike out, carrying about 110 pounds of supplies in a large back pack. The hike can be anywhere from 3 to 10 miles. So they have to be in really good shape. They are able to request certain supplies, and a common request is Bear Spray. They don't really run into bears when fighting the fire, because the fire usually keeps the bears away. But they can run into bears when hiking out. 

The job of a smoke jumper sounds dangerous (and boring at times, when there are no fires), but it is an extremely popular one. For example, this year there were 12 openings, and they received over 300 applications.