Incident Name: 29,000-acre Sleeping Child Fire, much of it on the Bitterroot National Forest
Date: 8/13/1961
Personnel: LaVerne Clifford, Ogalala Soiux from the Pine Ridge, SD
Age: 41
Agency/Organization: Sioux Indian Firefighters – BIA; fire jurisdiction – USFS
Position: firefighter
Summary: LaVerne Clifford died on a chartered Forest Service plane that was taking him home from the firelines. Crew boss for the trained Sioux Indian firefighters, he was removed from the fire after six days on the fire. He was treated in Hamilton for and infection and a stomach upset.
Maps
flight from Hamilton, MT to Pine Ridge, SD
{mosmap lat=’46.252607’|lon=’-114.128495’|marker=’0’|text=’died on flight from Hamilton, MT’}
Sleeping Child Creek, MT
{mosmap lat=’46.127431’|lon=’-114.056338’|marker=’0’|text=’Sleeping Child Creek, MT’}
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Montana Death Index: LaVerne Clifford
- US Social Security Death Index: LaVerne Clifford
Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
Contributors to this article: Mellie
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