Smoke Jumpers & Falling Helicopters

I lived in Kemmerer, WY in 1979. I was working for the Kemmerer Coal Company. Kemmerer was in the middle of a huge gas boom (Geologically, it is part of the Overthrust Belt). It was also the regional headquarters for the BLM and the Forest Service. The Forest Service ran Smoke Jumpers out of Kemmerer. I got to be pretty good friends with the BLMers and the Smoke Jumpers. (They were usually kids in college, as opposed to the roughnecks, who were usually there for the duration)

Below is a photo of the jumpers, shortly before their helicopter crashed:



Here is the after picture:



Nobody got hurt.