once the fire is out, they haul the equipment out on their backs. along with rigorous conditioning and class work the rookies practice exit jumps. landing and repelling in case their chute gets caught in a free. of the 200 who applied, only 5 made the cut. we have only been together a couple weeks and we are already pretty tight. the biggest challenge is hitting the jump spot which might be a few hundred feet or a mile away from the flames. they jump roughly 65 fires a year and are often the first responders. fast action that can literally save lives and property. here in california fire season starts just as soon as the winter rains subside. by may 1 these smoke jumpers
six-week training course to join the smoke jumpers unit. a group who parachutes into forest fires to surround and attack them fast. we jump from 1,500 feet above the ground and it takes four seconds to open, and you have a minute in the air and it goes by very quickly. once the jumpers land safely the plane drops down the gear. boxes of shovels and chain saws to cut containment lines to keep the fire from spreading and when the fire is completely out they haul the equipment out on their back. let s go. along with rigorous conditioning and class work they practice exit jumps, landing jumps, and rapelling in case the chute is caught in a tree. of the 200 who apply only five