FLATHEAD COUNTY
PAGODA MOUNTAIN
Flathead National Forest
22N-13W-3
22N-13W-3
July 15, 1937: "With a fighting chance for recovery, Harold Hatton of Somers, partly paralyzed from effects of a lightning bolt which struck him late Tuesday at his lookout in the south fork of the Flathead, is in a hospital here. Forest employes had carried him 12 miles down a rough mountain trail to the Black Bear landing field, from where he was brought by plane to Missoula.
Hatton, with J. Wirth, another lookout employe, had been repairing a telephone line when the lightning struck. Wirth, hit by the same bolt that felled Hatton, felt no ill effects. The bolt struck Hatton on the back of the neck and seared downward to his right hip. He was still unconscious Wednesday." (Billings Gazette)
Hatton, with J. Wirth, another lookout employe, had been repairing a telephone line when the lightning struck. Wirth, hit by the same bolt that felled Hatton, felt no ill effects. The bolt struck Hatton on the back of the neck and seared downward to his right hip. He was still unconscious Wednesday." (Billings Gazette)
July 16, 1937: "Fatally seared by a lightning bolt Tuesday afternoon, Leonard Harold Hatton, forest service lookout. died at a hospital Thursday morning.
It is an unusual coincidence that on the same day five years ago, the last such forest service casualty occurred. Charles Hash, assistant supervisor of the Lolo forest, being killed when he was struck by lightning near Woodman, July 13, 1932.
Shock from the lightning was so severe that physicians gave up hope for Hatton Wednesday, not long after his arrival by airplane from the south fork of the Flathead, where he had been brought down the mountain trail from Pagoda peak, his station by stretcher." (Billings Gazette)
July 21, 1937: "Lightning Strikes At Pagoda Peak: As this issue of the News goes to press, word is received that Leonard H. Hatton, Summers, Montana, and Roy Root of Kalispell were struck by lightning while repairing a telephone line near the lookout on the afternoon of July 13. Hatton, who was struck in the back of the head, has never regained consciousness and is not expected to recover. Root, although knocked out for 15 or 20 minutes, has fully recovered and so far as known suffered no ill effects.
According to available information, a very hot lightning storm hit Pagoda Peak on Tuesday afternoon between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. The two men, realizing their danger, began a hasty retreat to the tower, and it was while running along the ridge that they were hit. After recovering from the shock, Root attempted to carry Hatton to the tower but found he was unable to do so. He ran to the tower and called Black Bear Station from where the message was relayed to the Regional Office. M.Y. Foster of the Procurement Division and Dr. Honeycutt were immediately dispatched by plane to Black Bear. The physician went on to the lookout by horseback, arriving after dark. Hatton was held at the lookout until daylight, when he was carried down over an extremely precipitous and rocky trail to the station. From Black Bear he was removed to St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula by plane. Hatton is 23 years old. His father arrived in Missoula shortly before noon Wednesday." (Author not noted -- Northern Region News)
August 4, 1937: “Harold Hatton, forest service lookout, was rushed to a Missoula hospital by plane a few days ago for treatment for injuries suffered when struck by lightning. Hatton was struck at his lookout on Pagoda mountain in the south fork district of the Flathead national forest. A tedious 12-mile horseback ride was necessary to reach the Black Bear landing field from the lookout station.” (The Sanders County Independent-Ledger)
August 4, 1937: “Harold Hatton, forest service lookout, was rushed to a Missoula hospital by plane a few days ago for treatment for injuries suffered when struck by lightning. Hatton was struck at his lookout on Pagoda mountain in the south fork district of the Flathead national forest. A tedious 12-mile horseback ride was necessary to reach the Black Bear landing field from the lookout station.” (The Sanders County Independent-Ledger)