The daring life of a smokejumper
As wildfires continue to rage across the driest, hottest parts of the U.S. this summer, many Americans have been forced to flee their homes. Meanwhile, an elite group of firefighters called smokejumpers are parachuting into the heart of the blazing chaos.
The so-called Sand Fire in the Angeles National Forest burns near Los Angeles on July 24, 2016. | (REUTERS/Gene Blevins)
It takes fuel, oxygen, and heat to start a wildfire. After that, topography — the slope of a mountain, for example — as well as weather and more fuel spread the flames, often at an alarming pace. To sever this destructive path, firefighters battle the flames from the ground and sky, water bombing or spraying fuel retardant on the area. But when a wildfire spreads into the most remote areas, where trucks and equipment can't reach, smokejumpers dive in.
A smokejumper leaps from an airplane during a training flight above Winthrop, Washington, on June 30, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
It's a dirty, grueling, and dangerous job that can require months of travel all over the country. To even be considered, smokejumpers first have to meet strict requirements for physical fitness, firefighting skills, and forestry experience. Those who make the cut move onto an intense five-week training session at the "spiritual center" of smokejumping: North Cascades Smokejumper Base in Winthrop, Washington, where the first smokejumper parachuted in 1939. Those left at the end — there are only about 270 smokejumpers currently working for the Forest Service — represent the elite of the elite.
For the five weeks, rookies practice suiting up in under two minutes, landing fall techniques both out of planes and off of high structures, and fighting off fires with handsaws and chainsaws. They have to be in peak physical condition because this unique job can require them to crawl up mountainsides, withstand hundred-degree heat in full protective suits, and shimmy down a tree if their parachute gets snagged on a branch on the way down.
When the alarm sounds, trained jumpers suit up, grab their parachute and helmet, and then jump out of a plane, landing adjacent to the wildfire, often on mountainous terrain. From there, they connect with their gear, which drops down separately. They shed their jumping suit, secure their 100 pounds of gear, and head for the blaze. They work to eliminate anything that could perpetuate the fire, like living plants and trees of any size.
This year alone, around 38,000 wildfires singed our nation, leaving behind destroyed land, homes, and displaced people. Below, take a peak at a class of rookie smokejumpers in training at the base in Winthrop, Washington.
Ready-to-use parachutes are placed on the parachute loft on June 6, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Smokejumper recruits exercise on June 6, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Smokejumper recruit Jeff Rasmussen does squats with a large rock, punishment for dropping his helmet from atop the practice tower, during training on June 6, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
A smokejumper recruit trains by jumping from a large tower while attached to a zip line on June 6, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Smokejumper recruits clean their sweat-soaked equipment after training in extreme heat on June 7, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Smokejumper recruits train on June 7, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Rookie smokejumper Brian Anderson (right) prepares to jump from an airplane with fellow smokejumpers on June 30, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Assistant spotter Scott McClanahan (left) and spotter Daren Belsby (right) size up the landing area for smokejumpers preparing to complete a practice jump on June 30, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
Smokejumpers after leaping from an airplane during a training exercise on June 6, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)
A smokejumper recruit lands after leaping from an airplane during a training exercise in a field on June 7, 2016. | (REUTERS/David Ryder)