To become a smokejumper requires completion of intensive training in physical conditioning, parachuting, and forest-fire suppression.
The July 7 story, “ Children carry on Ely father’s smokejumping legacy ,” provided a good introduction to the profession of forest-firefighting smokejumpers.
In the summers of 1953 to 1956, while attending Boise Junior College and Idaho State College (both later became universities), I served as a U.S. Forest Service parachuting smokejumper, fighting forest fires in the remote Rocky Mountains in Idaho. Although specializing in fighting smaller fires to prevent larger (and more costly) ones, on large fires I became a crew leader of non-jumpers.
To become a smokejumper requires completion of intensive training in physical conditioning, parachuting, and forest-fire suppression. Personal and group safety are emphasized. There have been casualties in the past. This is not the job for a couch potato. Leadership, teamwork, and knowledge of fire behavior are required.
It should be noted that both young men and young women can become jumpers. Although this training is demanding, becoming a rookie (first-year jumper) provides a new level of personal confidence.
Each jump and fire had its own memorable story. On one jump, I missed the targeted jump spot and hung up in a huge Ponderosa pine tree. It was necessary to use a rope from my leg pocket to descend to the ground. Another jump was onto a high ridge in the Sawtooth Mountain Range. We used snow to put out the fire. The hike out from the fire took us to an old-west ghost town for pick-up.
On one large fire, I was assigned a Hispanic-American crew, of which only one fellow understood English. On yet another fire, we came across an elderly couple who had no car and whose house was in the path of a rapidly oncoming fire; using a pickup truck, we took them to safety.
Serving as a smokejumper is a challenging, non-boring career.
LINK TO SOURCE ARTICLE: https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/letters/readers-view-smokejumping-not-a-job-for-couch-potatoes
