Douse the Flames and Climb Aboard

As fires raged in Idaho and Montana and seemed to be closing in on numerous towns, the railroad became the lifeline for escape. Engineer John Mackedon and his fireman rode west toward Avery surrounded by fire and fearing they would not make it out alive when an emergency call reported that more fires had sent men, women, and children fleeing from homesteads and logging camps to the railroad platform in Falcon, 64 miles northeast of Avery, begging to be rescued. Backing the train into Falcon, Mackedon found buildings and railcars already on fire, and as everyone rushed toward the engine in panic, he spotted a boxcar that was not completely ablaze and told the crowd to douse the fire and quickly climb aboard. After escaping Falcon, he stopped twice more to put out fires on bridges in his path, and he and his fireman finally saved the stranded refugees by taking them into a tunnel to wait out the fire.

Montana · United States