Mural painting is underway on the Lyndale Avenue tunnel by Helena artist Elise Perpignano. The mural includes a scene of the Mann Gulch fire, which is having its 75th anniversary this year, depicting the fiery inferno and parachuting smokejumpers. The Helena City Commission approved the mural back in March and will pay $15,000 to Perpignano for her art.
"Growing up here has exposed me to the beauty of nature and the harsh reality of wildfire," she wrote in her entry form. Perpignano said the the mural's design is "visually stunning and is an educational tool to teach us about the stages of wildfires in nature and the ecosystem in our backyard." She said her mural "includes imagery from Gates of the Mountains Wilderness in Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Sleeping Giant and the Missouri River.
"It also honors the 13 smoke jumpers who risked their lives to fight the Mann Gulch fire 75 years ago," Perpignano wrote. Perpignano plans to have the mural completed by August. It's not Perpignano's first mural for the city.
In 2023, she did the Centennial Trail mural and was paid $15,000. Thom Bridge is a photojournalist with the Independent Record and Montana State News Bureau. He also hosts the Montana Untamed podcast.
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