While the Missoula Fire Department waits for November to see if voters will approve its request to raise $7 million annually through a new levy, it's also making plans to construct a new fire station and hire 20 new firefighters.
It was 70 years ago, August 5, 1949 that 13 firefighters perished in the Mann Gulch Fire north of Helena just off the Missouri River after parachuting into the area from the C-47 aircraft that is now the Miss Montana.
On the week of 9-11, the U.S. Post Office chose Missoula, Montana the home of the Smokejumpers Center as the one place in America to introduce a new stamp honoring first responders.