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This Don Mackey Memorial Site is located just up from the trailhead for Blodgett Canyon near Hamilton, Montana. From the findagrave.com website:
Don was a Missoula, Montana hotshot smoke jumper, living in the Bitterroot Valley & was killed in the firestorm on Storm King Mountain in Colorado on July 6,1994. Don was raised in the Bitterroot Valley, Hamilton, Montana. On July 4 only about 3 acres were burning and the fire was a low priority along with many other lightning started fires in Colorado. All together there were 14 fatalities during this fire, most of them were the 9 Hotshots from Prineville, Oregon. They got caught on the fire line above the fire, when the fire blew up and started racing up the ridge. There was a strong breeze and very dry conditions which led to the blowup that day. After losing radio communication with the ground and realizing their situation, their tools were dropped and they tried to escape by running up and over the ridge before the fire overwhelmed them. There were no good places to deploy the fire shelters between them and the top of the ridge, with lots of dry scrub for fueling the fire. Some other fatalities there on the fire did try to deploy shelters with them but they were not help full and resulted in deaths. One fire fighter, Kevin Erickson made it to the other side of the ridge but had burns on his neck and hands the others were not successful and perished on the mountain. Don turned back several times to help other fire fighters when he could have possibly saved himself. Because he was the first firefighter on the ground with his group, he was the leader - it was normal for the first on the ground at that time to be in charge. Don and Kevin talked about Kevin taking charge but Don kept his leadership. After this tragedy the Federal Government changed their rules and regulations on fighting fire in the United States. Two other firefighters were killed here while working at one of the heliport sites. Several books have been written about the Storm King Mountain tragedy. Some of the problems they had on this fire was a lack of knowledge about weather conditions and also confusion over who was in charge of the rest of the 50 or so fire fighters at the fire. Memorials now mark the locations on Storm King Mountain where Don Mackey, Bonnie Holtby, Richard Tyler, Robert Browning Jr., Scott Blecha, Jim Thrash, Kathi Beck, Terri Hagan, Doug Dunbar, Roger Roth, Tami Bickett, Levi Brinkley, Jon Kelso, and Rob Johnson died.
From: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9036138/donald-kurt-mackey
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
