A smokejumper fire call begins with the arrival of a Smokejumper request at the unit dispatcher's office.

Smokejumpers begin to suit up as the spotter, a smokejumper supervisor who will serve as jumpmaster on the flight, receives the request and plots the fire's location on the map. When suited up, the jumpers board the aircraft, which has been preloaded with their firefighting equipment. Within ten minutes after receiving the request, the aircraft is loaded and taxis to the runway for takeoff.

Upon arrival over the fire, the spotter and the smokejumper crew leader discuss the fire situation and choose a jump spot, the area in which they want the jumpers to land. They also determine the number of jumpers required to suppress the fire. On small fires, only two jumpers may be needed; larger fires may require 20 or more. The spotter throws weighted crepe paper drift streamers from the aircraft over the selected jump spot to determine wind direction and velocity, information the jumpers need to maneuver their parachutes into the selected jump spot.

The plane makes several passes over the jump spot as smokejumpers parachute from the aircraft one, two, or three at a time - most jump spots are small, and only a few jumpers at a time can safely land in them

Upon landing, the jumpers quickly remove their parachutes and jump suits. The plane circles, dropping to an altitude of 200 feet above the treetops. The spotter then drops the needed equipment via cargo parachute.

The crew leader checks the fire to determine whether enough jumpers and equipment have been dropped and that all the jumpers have landed safely. Then the crew leader radios the aircraft and lets the spotter know that the aircraft can leave the area. It's now time for the smokejumpers to go to work.

As the jumpers remove their tools from the cargo boxes, the crew leader sizes up the fire and determines the tactics to be used to fight it. The first task for the crew leader is to find a safety zone, an area into which the jumpers can retreat should the fire blow up. The crew leader notifies the jumpers of the safety zone's location, the routes to the zone, and what the signal will be if it's necessary to take refuge.

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The jumpers then begin to cut and dig a fireline around the edge of the fire. Firelines are constructed on the perimeter to deprive the fire of fuel, thereby stopping the fire's spread. Depending on the fire's intensity, firelines can be anywhere from a few feet to 200 feet wide. Burning trees and snags are felled and bucked with chainsaws or crosscut saws. Areas adjacent to the fire are carefully searched for "spot" fires, separate fires started by wind-drifted embers from the original fire. On larger fires, it may be necessary to order in airtankers to drop fire retardant, or helicopters with large buckets underneath to drop water to cool the flames.

Once the fireline is completed and the fire is contained, the smokejumpers begin "mop-up." During the mop-up stage, the fire is completely extinguished by mixing smoldering fuel with cool, moist soil. If available, water is applied with portable pumps and fire hose, or with backpack pumps. Only when the fire is totally controlled do the smokejumpers get an opportunity to rest. They remove the sleeping bags from the cargo boxes and look for a level spot to sleep, no easy task given the rugged terrain most smokejumper fires are located in.

After a few hours of rest, the smokejumpers begin their final check of the fire. This necessitates checking the entire fire area, inch by inch, for any remaining hotspots. The jumpers get down on their hands and knees and feel the entire burned area with their bare hands. The area must be cool to the touch before the fire can be declared out.

As the final check begins, the crew leader contacts the local dispatcher and begins making arrangements for the smokejumpers to leave the fire. This is a difficult task; each jumper has about 110 pounds of tools and equipment to carry, and smokejumper fires are seldom near roads. The jumpers must arrange to be picked up at the nearest road and then must determine how to get there. In some cases, they are retrieved by helicopter. Other times, a mule train or pack string is sent in to get the gear; often the jumpers backpack their gear to the nearest road. Back at their base, it may only be a matter of hours before they are off on another fire call.

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For more information email
aemoore@fs.fed.us
or write to:

USDA Forest Service, NCSC
Region 5 Smokejumpers
6101 Airport Road
Redding, CA 96002