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Two who died 50 years ago to be remembered |
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August 22, 2017 |
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Sundance Mountain is the site of a horrific
lightning caused wildfire that ignited in
August, 1967, and claimed two lives: assistant
fire control officer Luther Rodarte, 36, Santa
Maria, California, and bulldozer operator Lee
Collins, 53, of Thompson Falls, Montana. Both
men perished in the blaze of The Sundance on
September 1, 1967. Fifty years later,
commemoration programs are being held in honor
of these two wildfire firefighters.
On August 23, Priest Lake Museum will be hosting
a program at the Priest Lake Elementary School
starting at 7 p.m. On Saturday, August 26, the
Boundary County Museum will host its program
remembering both Trapper Peak and Sundance Fires
at 2 p.m. On September 2, the families of Luther
Rodarte and Lee Collins will join others for a
memorial at the Upper Pack River Bridge starting
at 10 a.m.
T-Shirts can be purchased through Idaho
Department of Lands in Bonners Ferry, and the
proceeds will help with the cost of a new
marker, which will be placed on the site where
the men perished, along with a new interpretive
sign at the trail head a short distance from the
Pack River Bridge.
There is also a
Go Fund Me page established for anyone
wishing to help with expenses.
At the outbreak of The Sundance, three fires
were discovered on Sundance Mountain in Bonner
County. Crews battled the blazes and by August
15 August, all three fires had been
extinguished.
On August 20, the lookout on Sundance Mountain
spotted a fourth plume of smoke.
A crew was dispatched to the site and by the end
of the following day, after burning two acres,
it was reported out. Thunderstorms rolled across
the Idaho Panhandle on the nights of August 20
and 21, and on August 23, the lookout on
Sundance spotted a fifth fire.
Once again, firefighters were dispatched, and 35
acres and five days later, this fire was listed
as “contained.”
But the next day, winds blowing southwest caused
that “contained 35 acre fire” to jump the fire
line, and within two days, the fire had grown to
3,500 acres and was threatening the town of
Coolin.
Within just two miles of the town, a sudden
fiery explosion blew the fire into a blazing
inferno, and evacuation alerts were issued.
At this same time, the Trapper Peak Fire was
burning out of control in Boundary County as
locals watched clouds of thick gray smoke
billowing up, burning debris blowing and
falling, and flames destroying magnificent
trees.
Officials were watching and monitoring closely,
wondering if the winds would merge the two great
fires into a single blaze.
At this time, The Sundance was the largest blaze
on the continent, and burned nearly 56,000 acres
before being tamed.
A young man named Randy Langston, the lookout on
Roman Nose, narrowly escaped with his life as
the fire crested the mountain, burning its path
toward his lookout. For whatever reason, the
Lookout was not destroyed by the fire!
These stories and many more will be highlighted
in the Trapper Peak/Sundance Fires program at
the Boundary County Museum at 2 p.m. this
Saturday. A special feature of the program will
be videoed interviews with local citizens who
worked the fires, watched the fires, or have
memories of the fires to share.
See you there! |
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