Earl Cooley
The firefighter who pioneered smoke jumping
Earl Cooley
1911–2009
Earl Cooley was one of the first two men to ever parachute from a plane to fight a raging forest fire. That same day, July 12, 1940, he also almost became the first man to die smoke jumping when he landed in the top branches of a spruce tree in northern Montana. But the fire was extinguished, and he went on to become superintendent of the smoke jumper base in Missoula and a founder of the National Smokejumper Association.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One of 11 children raised by homesteaders in Sarpy Creek, Mont., Cooley grew up fishing and hunting, said The Wall Street Journal. In 1937 he joined the U.S. Forest Service. Previously, the agency had rejected the idea that smoke jumpers could halt a blaze by digging trenches and cutting down trees. When the Forest Service changed its policy in 1939, Cooley was among the first applicants accepted into the smoke jumpers program. He was still a novice when he was “called to fight his first fire.”
That day, lightning had ignited a fire in Idaho’s Nez Perce forest, and the wind was blowing so hard that “Cooley’s load lines twisted up behind his neck.” As he searched for the emergency chute, the lines gradually unwound. He was in a virtual free-fall when he clipped
the spruce tree. Uninjured, he quickly rejoined his partner and the pair “squelched the fire.” They then hiked 28 miles to the nearest
ranger station.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
“I don’t know why,” Cooley once said, “but I was never afraid to jump.” Cooley retired from the Forest Service in 1975 and opened a real estate firm.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Robert Redford: the Hollywood icon who founded the Sundance Film Festival
Feature Redford’s most lasting influence may have been as the man who ‘invigorated American independent cinema’ through Sundance
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacy
Feature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th-century clothing
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Brian Wilson: the troubled genius who powered the Beach Boys
Feature The musical giant passed away at 82
-
Sly Stone: The funk-rock visionary who became an addict and recluse
Feature Stone, an eccentric whose songs of uplift were tempered by darker themes of struggle and disillusionment, had a fall as steep as his rise
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
-
Dame Maggie Smith: an intensely private national treasure
In the Spotlight Her mother told her she didn't have the looks to be an actor, but Smith went on to win awards and capture hearts