Earl Cooley (smokejumper)
Encyclopedia
Earl Everett Cooley became one of the first smokejumper
s for the United States Forest Service
, when he and a colleague parachuted from a plane to fight a forest fire in July 1940.
Cooley was born in Hardin, Montana
and dropped out of school when he was 12 to help his family eke out a living from farming and trapping, and developed an interest in hunting and fishing. He ultimately graduated from high school in 1930 after returning for his education and earned his undergraduate degree at the forestry school of the University of Montana.
Cooley founded the National Smokejumper Association
in 1992 and served as its president from 1993 to 1995.
Smokejumper
A smokejumper is a wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.Smokejumpers are most often deployed to fires that are extremely remote. The risks associated with this method of personnel deployment are mitigated by an extremely well developed training program that has...
s for the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
, when he and a colleague parachuted from a plane to fight a forest fire in July 1940.
Cooley was born in Hardin, Montana
Hardin, Montana
Hardin is a city in and the county seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hardin is located at ....
and dropped out of school when he was 12 to help his family eke out a living from farming and trapping, and developed an interest in hunting and fishing. He ultimately graduated from high school in 1930 after returning for his education and earned his undergraduate degree at the forestry school of the University of Montana.
Cooley founded the National Smokejumper Association
National Smokejumper Association
The National Smokejumper Association, or NSA, is a non-profit , American organization that preserves the history of aerial fire management, or smokejumping, through interviews, rosters, photographs, films, letters, reports and publications...
in 1992 and served as its president from 1993 to 1995.
External links
- Earl Cooley - Daily Telegraph obituary
- Earl Cooley - Facebook page