Blackwater fire of 1937

The Blackwater fire of 1937 was a forest fire started by a lightning strike on August 18, 1937, in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody, Wyoming. Fifteen firefighters were killed when a dry weather front shifted the winds 90 degrees causing a sudden increase in wind speed and change of the fire direction, resulting in a firestorm. Nine firefighters died during the fire and six more died shortly thereafter of severe burns and respiratory complications, while another 38 firefighters were injured. Investigations and analysis of the event led the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to develop a better way to provide a more immediate response to combat fires when they are first detected, paving the way for the smokejumper program to be initiated in 1939. Additionally, the Ten Standard Firefighting Orders, a standardized set of wildland firefighting principles, were developed twenty years later to help firefighters in the field better understand fire behavior.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater fire of 1937