HomeMy Public PortalAboutThrash, JamesFamilies of fire victims
Thrash's interview
of five years ago
proved prophetic
IBy Karen Bossick
The Idaho Statesman
MCCALL -- "Probably the
most important thing out there
is that you never want to come
down to your last option," New
Meadows smoke jumper Jim
Thrash told Playboy magazine
five years ago.
Thrash met up with his last
option Wednesday on a smoke -
choked mountainside near Glen-
wood Springs, Colo.
Fellow smoke jumpers and
their families silently mourned
his death and that of fellow
smoke jumper Roger Roth in a
somber reunion Friday on the
mourn together
runway outside the Payette Na- pulled off the the day checking the base's op-
tional Forest Smokejumper fires and g erations board. One by one, each
Base. brought back
�.� man was accounted for except
Seventeen of Thrash's surviv- to the base �x, for Thrash and Roth.
ing colleagues flew home from for one -on- "I'm almost embarrassed to
Glenwood Springs, Colo., where one and say that I felt relief when we
Thrash and Roth died fighting a group coun found there were only two be-
lightning-sparked fire. Other seling ses- cause at one time we felt there
base members flew in from fires sions to help could be a dozen," he says.
in Utah and Arizona. them get over '" ='' Seagraves considers both men
A few dozen family members the trauma. Jack Seagraves like family. Most smoke jumpers
and friends waited tensely and Already, smokejumpers from share such feelings, he says, be-
quietly for the white Forest Ser- around the nation have started cause they're an elite group, num-
vice planes trimmed in reddish- arriving to express their condo- bering only about 400 nationwide.
orange and black. As the smoke lences to Thrash's widow and "I'm sure we will work this
jumpers left the plane , welcom- two school -aged children. out as a family," Seagraves says.
ers hesitated. Then one man Jack Seagraves, a smoke Smoke jumpers had already
broke the ice by clasping the j umper who will turn 52 in a few started doing that on planes
hand of one of the firefighters. days, spent Thursday working back to McCall on Friday.
One woman hugged her hus- outside, where he could be alone "We started joking about
band for three minutes, as her with his thoughts. He would Thrash, how he enjoyed riling
husband patted her reassuringly have been working on the fire people up and baiting them into
on her back. A child sqt wiping had he known how to work his arguments," says smoke jumper
his wet eyes in the shade of the new cellular phone, he says. Brad Sanders. "And we won -
equipment room. By missing a call, he missed dered: Who was going to fix our
The smoke jumpers were the flight out. Instead, he spent cars back, as Roth had."
Thrash, a smoke jumper for 15
years, told a Playboy interview-
er that a common thread among
smoke jumpers is their love for
adventure. They're adrenaline
freaks, he said, who are willing
to risk their limbs landing in a
100 - foot -tall Ponderosa pine and
• fight 200 mph cyclonic winds
and fire so hot it could burn
your skin from 100 feet away.
"Smoke jumpers are pretty
much expected to be tougher than
a two - dollar steak," Thrash said.
Despite the risk they take,
smoke jumpers prefer to think
Jim Thrash death can't happen to them.
The average age of a smoke
jumper in McCall is 35, they
point out. Twenty of the 70 are
over 40 years.
A'
Seagraves and others readily
Y
say they've never known anoth-
er smoke jumper to have to de-
ploy his fire shelter before
Wednesday's fire.
Roger Roth
Troy Maben /The Idaho Statesman
A McCall smokejumper weeps
as other smokejumpers arrive
back at the smokejumper unit
from Colorado on Friday.
JAMES ROBERT THRASH
James Robert Thrash, 44, of New
Meadows, died Wednesday, July 6,
1994, at Glenwood Springs, Colo. -
doing what he loved best.
Graveside services were hold at 11
a.m. Tuesday, July 12, 1994, at the
New Meadows Cemetery. The Rev.
Dr. Stan Tate of Moscow officiated.
Arrangements were under direction
of the Heikkila Funeral Chapel,
McCall.
Jim was born Aug. 23, 1949, at
Sacramento, Calif. He grew up in
Phoenix, Ariz., and graduated from
Cortez High School in 1967. He at-
tended Pasadena College on a base-
ball scholarship, and received his
bachelor's degree in Spanish and his-
tory.
While in Pasadena, Calif., he met
Holly E. Kliewer of Shafter, Calif.
They were married in May 1973 at
Bakersfield, Calif.
In 1974, Jim and Holly moved to
Nampa, Idaho. He taught social stud-
ies and Spanish while coaching the
varsity baseball team at Middleton
High School for four years. Both Jim
and Holly began their work for the
U.S. Forest Service in 1979 when
they moved to McCall. It was in 1981
that Jim began his career as a smoke
jumper and hunting guide.
By 1983, Jim and Holly decided to
move to New Meadows where they
S -t C2 Y NeW5
established the Salmon Meadows
Lodge — Warren Outfitters hunting
guide business.
Through the hunting guide busi-
ness, Jim wasted no time becoming
involved in the Idaho Outfitters and
Guides Association (IOGA), and
quickly established himself as a good
listener and reasoned voice. Begin-
ning in 1988, Jim served two terms on
the board of directors, was elected
vice president in 1992, and became
president of the guides association in
1993.
Jim was very much at home in the
back country. He practiced what he
preached when it came to respon-
sible, shared use of our public lands
and waters. He knew, understood, and
respected the role of fire in the eco-
system. His leadership will be greatly
missed.
Jim is survived by his beloved wife,
Holly, daughter, Ginny, 11, and son,
Nathan, 7, of New Meadows. He is
also survived by his parents, Will and
Mary-Alice of Carmichael, Calif.; a
brother, Wally of Vancouver, Wash.;
and a sister, Loretta Beecher of
Nampa.
The family suggests that memori-
als may be made to the IOGA Educa-
tional Trust Fund for Ginny and
Nathan Thrash at (208) 342 -1438, or
to the Smokejumpers Trust Fund,
West One Bank, Account No. 11000
219 6204.
Jiti1 Y I9(?y
James Robert Thrash
New Meadows
James Robert Thrash, 44, of
New Meadows, died Wednesday,
July 6, 1994, at Glenwood
Springs, Colo. — doing what he
loved best.
Graveside services will be held
at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 12, at the
New Meadows Cemetery. The
Rev. Dr. Stan Tate of Moscow will
officiate. Arrangements are under
direction of the Heikkila Funeral
Chapel, McCall.
Jim was born Aug. 23, 1949, at
Sacramento, Calif. He grew up in
Phoenix, Ariz., and graduated
from Cortez High School in 1967.
He attended Pasadena College
on a baseball scholarship, and
received his bachelor's degree in
Spanish and history. While in
Pasadena, Calif., he met Holly E.
Kliewer of Shafter, Calif. They
were married in May of 1973 at
Bakersfield, Calif.
In 1974, Jim and Holly moved to
Nampa, Idaho. He taught social
studies and Spanish while coach-
ing the varsity baseball team at
Middleton High School for four
years. Both Jim and Holly began
their work for the U.S. Forest
Service in 1979 when they moved
to McCall. It was in 1981 that Jim
began his career as a smoke
jumper and hunting guide. By
1983, Jim and Holly decided to
move to New Meadows where
they established the Salmon
Meadows Lodge — Warren Out-
fitters hunting guide business.
Through the hunting guide
business, Jim wasted no time be-
coming involved in the Idaho Out-
fitters and Guides Association
(IOGA), and quickly established
himself as a good listener and
reasoned voice. Beginning in
1988, Jim served two terms on
the board of directors, was elect-
ed vice president in 1992, and
became president in 1993.
Jim was very much at home in
the back country. He practiced
what he preached when it came
to responsible, shared use of our
public lands and waters. He
knew, understood, and respected
the role of fire in the ecosystem.
His leadership will be greatly
missed.
Jim is survived by his beloved
wife, Holly, daughter, Ginny (11),
and son, Nathan (7) of New Mead-
ows. He is also survived by his
parents, Will and Mary -Alice of
Carmichael, Calif.; brother, Wally
of Vancouver, Wash.; and sister,
Loretta Beecher of Nampa.
The family suggests that me-
morials may be made to the IOGA
Educational Trust Fund for Ginny
and Nathan Thrash at (208) 342-
1438, or to the Smoke Jumpers
Trust Fund, West One Bank, Ac-
count ##11000 219 620.4.
400 say goodbye to smoke jumper
New Meadows firefighter
`loved the outdoors.
It was all he was'
By Kim Eckart
The Idaho Statesman
NEW MEADOWS — An Idaho smoke
jumper was buried Tuesday amid the moun-
tains and forests that had set the scene for
his life.
Alongside the casket that held the re-
mains of 44- year -old Jim Thrash were the
symbols of his life: his family, his smoke
jumper helmet and his baseball card col-
lection.
"Jim belonged to the mountains. He loved
the outdoors. It was all he was," said Rich
Nieto, a McCall smoke jumper who knew
Thrash for 8 years. "It's very hard, that
something like this would happen to such a
sharp person."
Thrash, who also worked as an outfitter
and guide, was one of two McCall smoke
jumpers who died July 6 in the Storm King
Mountain fire near Glenwood Springs, Colo.
The other, 30- year -old Roger Roth, will be
buried today in L'Anse, Mich. The two were
among the 14 firefighters who died in the
lightning - sparked blaze.
A bright summer sun warmed the crowd of
almost 400 at the Meadows Valley Ceme-
tery, where spruce trees blanket the sur-
rounding mountains and farmhouses dot the
landscape. About 60 of the 70 smoke jumpers
stationed at the McCall base were there. So
were past and present smoke jumpers from
around the West.
The crowd remained silent. Several people
occasionally embraced each other.
That large turnout, smoke jumpers ex-
plained, represents the brotherhood that
unites their lives. "Bros," as they refer to
their elite group of 400 nationwide, look out
for others just as much as, if not more than,
they look out for themselves.
"The thing about this job is the camarade-
rie and the danger factor," Nieto said as he
stared at the gravesite. "You can walk into
a bar anywhere and talk to a smoke jumper
who jumped 30 years ago, and he'll buy you
a beer. It's the people."
"This didn't just affect McCall. Everybody
shared in the hurt and the pain," added
Nieto, who was one of the first smoke
jumpers on the scene to search for the
missing firefighters last week.
Smoke jumper Greg Beck read letters
from other firefighters and gave an emotion-
al eulogy, describing Thrash's devotion to
his wife, Holly, and children, Ginny, 11, and
Nathan, 7. He had three loves, Beck said:
family, friends and the land.
Thrash's wife and children declined to
speak to reporters Tuesday. Thrash's broth-
er, Wally, 51, said Jim decided to live in
Idaho after his first visit more than 20 years
ago. Jim wanted to be close to the outdoors,
he said. Being an outfitter and a smoke
'jumper were two ways of doing that.
"He'd rather be outside than inside any
Photos by Chris Butler /The Idaho Statesman
Mourners embrace in front of the casket of smoke jumper Jim Thrash, 44. after Tuesday's
time," Wally Thrash said tnougniauuy.
During the service, Ginny Thrash, dressed
in a flowered shirt and shorts, with her hair
in a braid, approached the podium with a
small piece of paper. She took a breath and
carefully read the poem she had written,
dedicated to the love of the wilderness she
shared with her father. Never wavering, she
concluded, "I think you'll agree, that the
woods are the place, for my dad and me."
Hats belonging to Jim Thrash hang below
his portrait at his funeral on Tuesday. The
last time smoke jumpers died in a fire was
in 1949, when 12 were killed by the Mann
Gulch Fire north of Helena, Mont.
Hat belonging
to dead firefighte-
disappears at sho
Display was meant
to honor Idahoan
who died in blaze
By Karen Bossick
The Idaho Statesman
New Meadows Smokejumper
Jim Thrash was a man of many
hats.
Now one of those hats is
missing.
A spokesman for the Idaho
Outfitters and Guides Associa-
tion thinks a black cowboy hat
that belonged to the late smoke -
jumper may have been stolen
from a tribute display set up at
the association's fall meeting at
the Red Lion Hotel- Riverside in
Garden City.
The hat sported a hatband and
four or five smokejumper pins
awarded to Thrash for his fire~
fighting achievements.
"Jim had many hats, but this
was the hat he wore a lot, and
the jumper pins mean a lot," his
widow, Holly Thrash, said. "I
suppose they're replaceable, but
it wouldn't be
the same."
The hat
turned up
missing dur-
ing the asso-
ciation meet-
ing, which ;
took place °
Dec. 5, said
Grant Si- Jim Thrash
monds, executive director of the
outfitters group and a friend of
Thrash's.
Thrash was one of 14 fire-
fighters killed July 6 while
fighting a wildfire on Storm
King Mountain near Glenwood
Springs, Colo. Other sr ke-
jumpers said they beli ,d
Thrash was trying to help mj-kr•s
escape the holocaust when he
died. W
Before his death, Thrash had a
dual career, working three
months each year as a smae-
jumper and nine months as a
big -game outfitter.
These hats were displayed at Jim Thrash's funeral.
He was well respected as a
common -sense voice on issaies,
such as wilderness and Fish;dnd
Game operations, Simonds said.
"Even though he wore primar-
ily a cowboy hat, he was well -
respected within the cons=a-
tion community," Simonds said.
The Idaho Outfitters end
Guides'Association made a Aiib-
ute to Thrash, who had 19een
association president, at its De-
cember meeting.
The display, in the foyer of the
Red Lion Hotel- Riverside ball-
room, included several ofIthe
many hats Thrash used to wear.
The Associated Press
Among them: his L.A. Dodgers
baseball' cap, a smokejumper
hat, Idaho Outfitters and Guirtos
Association cap and the black
cowboy hat that he wore while
guiding big game hunters for the
past five years.
The hat was displayed at the
graveside ceremony for the
smokejumper last summer„ in
New Meadows.
"I can't tell you how I felt
when we learned it was mm-
ing," Simonds said. "It's a part
of family history."
Holly Thrash of New Meadows, left,
comforts her children, Ginny and
Nathan, last Thursday as the family
visited the site near Glenwood Springs,
Colo., where Smokejumper Jim Thrash
died a year before. The Thrash family
joined other relatives of 14 firefighters
who died in the South Canyon Fire on
July 6, 1994, in retracing the final steps
taken by the fallen men and women.
Memorials to the victims of the blaze
were dedicated as well. Also killed in
the fire was McCall -based
Smokejumper Roger Roth, whose
family is from Michigan.
Photo by Casey A. Cass, Glenwood Post