Paul, 69, died July 1, 2020, in Missoula after a long battle with cancer. He was born in Oakland, CA, in 1951. Paul was a hurdler in high school and was also on the San Jose State track team for a time. He started his firefighting career with CalFire in Santa Clara County (CA) before heading to Missoula and smokejumpers.

Paul jumped at Missoula 1971-99. Paul served as an Incident Commander and was best known for his safety innovations and incident investigation processes, ultimately traveling around the world lecturing large groups of firefighters on the simple yet effective concepts of L.C.E.S., a streamlined method to ensure everyone is safe on even the most dangerous forest fires.

Paul was a skilled sailor and enjoyed sailing his Catalina 25 on Flathead Lake. His many other interests included stargazing with the local astronomy club, supporting the Missoula Symphony Orchestra and sitting on its Board; aiding the Missoula's Discovery Area children's science museum, and giving back to his community through other projects such as the bicycle path he created.