The ashes of smokejumpers were dropped from a historic aircraft known as Miss Montana in a farewell ceremony that organizers called “one last jump,” according to The Missoulian, which reported the story Friday, June 20, 2026.
Miss Montana is a storied plane tied to the smokejumping tradition in Montana — the aerial firefighters who parachute into remote wilderness to battle wildfires before they spread beyond reach.
The ceremony
The aerial scattering gave the fallen jumpers a final send-off that mirrored the work that defined their careers. Dropping from a plane — the same way they fought fires — was the point. No funeral home. No graveside service. One last exit through an open door at altitude.
Smokejumping has been based in Missoula since the late 1930s, when the U.S. Forest Service began testing the concept. The Missoula Smokejumper Base remains one of the oldest and most active in the country, according to the Forest Service.
The Missoulian did not publish additional details about which smokejumpers were honored, how many sets of ashes were scattered, or who organized the flight. Those details had not been made available as of the publication date.
Reported by The Missoulian. Read the original report.
