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Insider's Look at Smokejumping
Stock Photo
Bruce L. Nelson w/introduction by FireLink.com
Smokejumpers are highly trained wildfire firefighters deployed to remote locations. They are parachuted in to to secure fires otherwise unreachable by local forces. By making use of high-altitude aircraft, smokejumpers are able to reach fires faster, cheaper, and better equipped than any road-bound vehicle.
Because smokejumping forces are limited to small teams, most of us don’t get a chance to see what these special forces battle. “Buck” Nelson, a 20-year smokejumping veteran, gives us an insider look into the smokejumping world…
Flying In
Although most fires can be reached by road or helicopter, smokejumpers flying in faster airplanes (this photo shows a picture of a DC-3 circling a fire on a fire run in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana) and using specially designed parachutes can reach fires that are difficult to reach by any other method.
