Fifteen smoke jumpers parachuted into Mann Gulch, along with their foreman, Wag Dodge. Dodge set an escape fire that created a burned-over area for the fire to bypass and directed the firefighters towards the safe area. But the men either didn't understand him or they refused his order. Instead, they tried to outrun the fire. Two of them, Walter Rumsey and Robert Sallee, eventually found shelter. Dodge, Rumsey, and Sallee would end up as the only survivors.
As a result of the Mann Gulch fire, the U.S. Forest Service built a research center to study fire behavior. In addition, the USFS established two centers in Montana and California to develop safety equipment to protect firefighters.
