August 1910

The Western Firefighters Manual: Chapter I The Firefighters Profession, cover.

The Western Firefighters Manual: Chapter VII Firefighting, page 17.

Report of the Grave Creek-Trout Creek Fire on the Clearwater and Lolo National Forests, page 2.

Let Us Keep Them Green, cover.

"By August Barringer had returned, and for the next few weeks "good progress was made in extinguishing the fire line along the east side." But on August 21,1910,that all changed when the fire crossed the "state line and bore southwest within one half a mile of the Clearwater River."

From the Report of Forest Ranger H.P. Barringer and Assistant Ranger James S. Garrison: "By the afternoon the wind commenced to blow from the west and by 4 pm had attained the velocity and force of a hurricane, and all efforts were directed to saving the lives and supplies of the firefighting crews. A dense cloud of smoke, sand and ashes filled the air and obscured the view to such an extent that men could hardly be distinguished at arm's length, green trees three and four feet in diameter were uprooted or twisted off in the bottom and the fire became a racing cloud of flame sweeping everything in its path."

On August 23, 1910, the wind finally died down and a light snow began to fall. The following morning the skies cleared to reveal the smoking waste of the landscape left behind. Rangers Barringer and Garrison continued to work on the fire line until September 12, when rainy weather extinguished the remaining hot spots.