Have you ever wondered how folks out west fight forest fires out in the middle of nowhere, when it’s completely inaccessible by vehicle? Enter the highly trained, extremely fit, and gutsy smokejumpers! Flown in via airplane, they parachute to the ground ahead of the fire, and attempt to minimize the extent of the fire damage. There are nine smokejumping bases in the West between Fairbanks, Alaska and southern California. This past Tuesday we had the fantastic opportunity to tour the Missoula, Montana Smokejumper facility.
Smokejumping originated in Winthrop, Washington back in 1939. Fires would start in the middle of nowhere (typically a lightning strike or human carelessness) and by the time crews hiked 3-4 days through the forest to reach that location, the fire would have spread to hundreds or thousands of acres. The first official smokejump took place in 1940 and was based out of Missoula, which now hosts one of the two largest bases.
Every jumper learns to sew and makes all their own gear, which allows for it to be highly-personalized in a way that wouldn’t be possible if gear was imported from elsewhere. This also means that if gear gets damaged while on the fire line, the jumper has the skills to fix it on their own.
In the “Ready Room” there are around 75 lockers that contain each smokejumper’s uniform, helmet, gear, parachute, reserve parachute, etc.… When the siren goes off, it takes about 10 minutes for the on-call jumpers to dress, go through a safety check and be onboard the plane. The longest a smokejumper can be on a fire line is 21 days, after which they are flown back for a mandatory rest period.
After a jump, the parachute is hung in “the tower” and thoroughly inspected for any kind of damage. If damage is found, it’s flagged and sent to ‘the loft’ for repairs (usually by the jumpers themselves.)
If it’s deemed fit for flight, the smokejumper takes it to the loft to repackage it (which takes 45 minutes on average). The rookie smokejumper is required to pack 19 parachutes, each of which are taken apart and critiqued by a senior smokejumper. On the 20th packaging, they gear up and take the ‘suicide’ jump to prove that they packed it correctly.
Also on-site is a replica of the Hornet Peak Lookout, a primitive cabin on the mountain, typically lived in by a firewatcher. Deemed 'deluxe accommodations' compared to the previously used tree-top "crow's nest," the 14'x14' cabin featured living quarters on the lower half, and a glass cupola for use in observation.
Lastly, in a quiet grassy corner adjacent to the lookout, the smokejumpers have created a memorial for all jumpers who have lost their lives fighting fires, but especially for the 13 jumpers who tragically died in the Mann Gulch (MT) forest fire on August 5, 1949. What started out as a 60-acre forest fire rapidly exploded into a 3,000-acre fire in a shocking 10-minutes, taking the lives of 12 jumpers and a former jumper (working as a recreation guard).
This intriguing place in Missoula, Montana offers free tours, and has several short films that were hugely interesting. If you're anywhere in the area, I highly recommend making the stop here. As a homeschool family, we've participated in numerous tours over the years, however, our entire family agrees this is probably the most fascinating and informative "fieldtrip tour" we've ever done.
I'll include a few links of sites to learn more about smokejumpers, along with a virtual tour of the base we visited.
Until next time, God bless!!
Missoula Smokejumpers Visitor's Center:
Virtual Tour of Missoula Base:
History of Smokejumping:
This is so interesting and something that you would not find in history books. Thank you for sharing.