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HCR039.....................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
PULASKI PROJECT - Stating findings of the Legislature and expressing
support and encouragement to the Pulaski Project in accomplishing its
important mission in tribute to Edward Pulaski and in acknowledgment of the
dedicated service of all past, present and future wildfire fighters.
02/09 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/10 Rpt prt - to St Aff
02/16 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/17 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/23 3rd rdg - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Shepherd
Title apvd - to Senate
02/24 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/08 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 10th Ord
03/09 10th Ord - ADOPTED - voice vote
Floor Sponsor - Calabretta
Title apvd - to House
03/10 To enrol
03/11 Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/12 Pres signed
03/15 To Secretary of State
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 39
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
2 STATING FINDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT
3 FOR THE EFFORTS OF THE PULASKI PROJECT IN ACCOMPLISHING ITS IMPORTANT MIS-
4 SION IN TRIBUTE TO EDWARD PULASKI AND IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DEDICATED
5 SERVICE OF ALL PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE WILDFIRE FIGHTERS.
6 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 WHEREAS, on August 20, 1910, in the beautiful mountains and forests of
8 northern Idaho and western Montana, known as the "high lonesome," the worst
9 forest fire in American history erupted, burning three million acres of
10 timberland over the course of two days, causing many to believe the fire
11 heralded the end of the world; and
12 WHEREAS, although in July of 1910, thousands of wildfires were sparked
13 during the driest year in memory, by August 19, 1910, most of the fires were
14 under control until hurricane force winds, blowing up to 80 miles per hour,
15 swept into Idaho and coaxed the remaining fires together, creating a
16 firestorm; and
17 WHEREAS, firefighters battled the blaze, from which smoke could be seen as
18 far away as Denver, and which spanned from eastern Washington, across Idaho
19 and into Montana; and
20 WHEREAS, the devastating fire ultimately claimed the lives of eighty-six
21 people; and
22 WHEREAS, during the afternoon of August 20, 1910, just outside of Wallace,
23 Idaho, Edward Pulaski, a district ranger with the recently created U.S. Forest
24 Service, realized that he and his crew were trapped in the fire and that they
25 could only try to save their lives; and
26 WHEREAS, being the only one familiar with the backcountry trails, Pulaski
27 led his 45-man crew through fire and smoky darkness to safety in the abandoned
28 Nicholson Mine, now commonly known as the Pulaski Tunnel; and
29 WHEREAS, in leading the men to safety, Pulaski ordered them to lay face
30 down to keep from suffocating from gas and smoke from the fire and, in the
31 midst of some of the men succumbing to panic, he prevented any of them from
32 leaving the mine, and from certain death, by holding them at bay with his pis-
33 tol; and
34 WHEREAS, as timbers at the entrance of the mine caught fire, Pulaski beat
35 out the flames with horse blankets and water from the mine floor that he gath-
36 ered with his hat; and
37 WHEREAS, many of the men, including Pulaski, eventually lost consciousness
38 from the heat, smoke and gas, but, in the morning, all but five of the men
39 emerged from the tunnel and hiked back to Wallace, their lives having been
40 spared; and
41 WHEREAS, Pulaski, who had emerged from the fire a hero, was hospitalized
42 for nearly two months with blindness and pneumonia and carried scars of the
43 firestorm on his hands and face for the rest of his life; and
44 WHEREAS, in 1984, the U.S. Forest Service placed a monument, dedicated to
2
1 those who lost their lives in the fire and to Edward Pulaski, on Moon Pass
2 Road near the trail to the Pulaski Tunnel; and
3 WHEREAS, because over the course of time the trail and adit of the mine
4 have fallen into severe disrepair, a dedicated group launched the Pulaski
5 Project in 2002, in an effort to preserve this important piece of Idaho's his-
6 tory and the history of this country; and
7 WHEREAS, in addition to serving as a tribute to Edward Pulaski, the
8 Pulaski Project serves as an acknowledgment of the dedicated service despite
9 hardship, peril, and sacrifice, of all past, present and future wildfire
10 fighters; and
11 WHEREAS, the Pulaski Project focuses on four primary goals: (1) the up-
12 grading of the mine adit and trail that Pulaski and his men used to survive
13 and escape the fire; (2) the creation of a National Wildfire Education Center
14 and Museum in Silverton/Wallace, whose purpose is to elevate the priority of
15 wildfire and forest management in the region and the nation, as well as to
16 educate the public regarding the shift away from the 100% suppression paradigm
17 that was launched by the great 1910 fire; (3) the upgrading of two collective
18 U.S. Forest Service gravesites at Nine Mile Cemetery; and, finally, (4) the
19 ongoing development of both a web page (see www.pulaski-project.org) and an
20 online discussion group for the furtherance of enlightened and serious discus-
21 sion of the issues that divide the nation regarding wildfire and forest man-
22 agement today; and
23 WHEREAS, the Pulaski Project's goals serve the people of Idaho and the
24 nation by commemorating the historical significance of the 1910 fire, and by
25 addressing the importance across Idaho, the northwest, and the nation, regard-
26 ing wildfires and forest management.
27 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-
28 sion of the Fifty-seventh Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and
29 the Senate concurring therein, that the Legislature herein expresses support
30 and encouragement to the Pulaski Project in accomplishing its important mis-
31 sion in tribute to Edward Pulaski and in acknowledgment of the dedicated ser-
32 vice of all past, present and future wildfire fighters.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13732
This legislation will express support and encouragement for the
efforts of the Pulaski Project, and acknowledge the dedication of
the wildfire fighters, past, present, and future.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund.
Contact
Name: Representative Mary Lou Sheperd
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HCR 039