Hooch site: place to bunk down for the night on a wildfire.
Hot spot: particularly active part of a fire.
Hotshot crew: a Type 1 fire crew, extensively trained and experienced, usually 20 to 22 members, primarily tasked with constructing, backburning, and holding handline, through the use of chain saws, hand tools, ignition devices, and water delivery equipment. They can engage in all phases of wildfire response, from initial attack to mop-up. They are also trained in specialized operations, such as hot spotting, spot fire attack, tree felling, and structure protection.
Incident Command System (ICS): standardized emergency management system to address incidents of varying sizes and severity, managed by an Incident Commander (IC).
Initial attack (IA): preplanned early response to a wildfire that may include sizing up, patrolling, monitoring, holding actions or suppression.
Jump list: list of smokejumpers by name that dictates jump order.
Jump spot: selected landing area for smokejumpers.
Jumper in charge (JIC): first jumper out of the plane and subsequently, Incident Commander of the mission.
Ladder fuels: flammable materials that let fire climb from the ground into the crowns of shrubs or trees.
Loft: part of a jump base where parachutes are maintained and repaired and smokejumper gear is manufactured.
Lookout: trained observer tasked with recognizing and anticipating changes in wildland fire behavior.
McLeod: firefighting hand tool with a hoe or cutting tool on one side and a rake on the other.
Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC): U.S. Forest Service research and development facility for public land management, focused (among other things) on developing and testing new firefighting equipment. (Formerly, Missoula Equipment Development Center [MEDC]).
Mop up: final stage of wildfire suppression, which includes extinguishing burning material, cutting down snags, and trenching logs to prevent rolling.
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC): federal facility in Boise, Idaho, that coordinates mobilization of resources for wildland fire incidents throughout the country.
Nomex: trade name for a fire resistant synthetic material, (generic name Aramid) used to make flight suits, pants, and shirts used by firefighters.
On final: aircraft flight path suitable for smokejumpers to deploy.
On scene: emergency equipment or aircraft that has reached a wildfire location.
On station: emergency aircraft flying above an wildfire incident.
Overhead: supervisory firefighting personnel, including incident commanders, command staff, unit leaders, and others.
Pack test: one standard for determining firefighter physical fitness, consisting of walking a specified distance within a certain period of time while carrying a weighted pack.
Paracargo: supplies dropped from an aircraft by parachute or free fall.
Parachute landing fall (PLF): controlled roll designed to minimize the chance of injury during a parachute landing roll.
Personal gear (PG) bag: small bag containing personal items carried by firefighters.
Pounder: incident response by ground vehicle.
Pulaski: firefighting hand tool with an axe on one side and an adze on the other.
Ram-air: BLM smokejumpers use a “ram-air parachute,” which is a rectangular, pressurized fabric airfoil, rather than the traditional round parachute used by the Forest Service.
Rappel: descending a rope using a mechanical device to control descent; called “let down” when descending from a tree.
Retardant: substance or chemical agent that reduces the flammability of combustible material.
Rookie: first-year smokejumper.
Safety zone: area cleared of flammable materials available as a protected space for firefighters.
Sawyer: chain saw operator; a.k.a. faller.
Slash: flammable debris left over from weather events, construction, logging, or other land clearing.
Smokejumper: wildland firefighter who parachutes into a remote area to combat wildfires.
Snag: standing dead tree.
Snookie: second-year smokejumper.
Spot fire: fire ignited outside the perimeter of the main fire by a firebrand.
Spotter: individual responsible for selecting drop target and supervising all aspects of deployment in smokejumping, rappelling, and paracargo operations.
Streamer: long pieces of weighted crepe paper thrown from jump planes before jumping to determine wind drift and descent time.
Swamper: worker who assists fallers or sawyers by clearing away cut material and carrying supplies.
Tango union: inoperable, broken.
Tanker: aircraft used in fire suppression.
Tower: Parachute simulation tower used in jumper training.
Two-manner: A small mission that can be handled by two jumpers.
Widow-maker: loose snag or tree limb in danger of falling on anyone beneath it.
INDEX
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affirmative action, 67
AIG Wildfire Protection Unit, 186–87
Air America, 58
air attack missions, 221
aircraft
accidents, 124
Aérospatiale Alouette III 316B, 13
Automatic Flight Following for, 193
heliports for, 224
helitorch mounted on, 224
rappel exits from, 14–15, 17–18, 226
remote-controlled, 197–98
Shorts C-23 Sherpa, 79–80
takeoff and landing spots, 224
turbulence and, 23, 124–25
air sickness, 124–25
alumagel, 21–22, 221
anchor point, 221
Andreev, Nikolai, 61
animals, wild, 145–46
ankle braces, 89
Arizona Department of Forestry, 183–84, 194
Automatic Flight Following, 193
backfire, defined, 221
“balloon bombs,” 48
Bambi Bucket, 21
Bandelier National Monument Fire, 186
bears, 145–46
beetle infestations, 175–76
Bell motorcycle helmets, 89
“Big Burn,” 39, 41–43
Bird, Doug, 60, 61
Black Forest Fire, 176
Blackwater Fire, 44
blowup, defined, 221
Blue Ridge Hotshots, 180
boots, 89, 137
boredom, 100
Brown, Malvin L., 49
buckaroo, 221
bucket drops, 170–71, 173
bull cooking, 87
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
about, 221
Alaska smokejumper program, 56
engine crew work with, 1, 3–8
ram-air chutes used by, 205–7, 226
burnovers, 149, 195–96
Button, Mr., 35–36
California
drought in, 176–77
fire hazard severity zone maps, 186
calisthenics, 69
camera, handheld thermal, 192
camping hammock, 137–38
candling (torching), defined, 222
cannonball-style exit position, 83
canopy, in forest vegetation, 222
canopy, of parachute, 222
canopy fires, 109
canyons, and fires, 112
Capewell release system, 76, 222
cardiac events, 125
cargo boxes, 95–96
cargo drop, 222
Carlton Complex Fire, 198, 199–203, 209
cell phones, 191–92
chain (unit of measurement), 222
CIA, 58
Clark, William, 149
classroom education, 188
climate change, 175, 177
Coeur d�
�Alene Fire, 39, 41–43
Cold War, 60–61
communication, relaying, 95
compact point-of-view video cameras, 192
conscientious objectors, 48
contained wildfire, defined, 222
controlled burns, 21–22, 185, 186
Cooley, Earl, 47, 50, 53
Cooper, Dan, 59–60
Court, Ash, 93
Crater Lake National Park, 139–40
creeping fire, defined, 222
crown fire, defined, 222
cubie, defined, 222
Daniels, Ellreese, 156, 158, 165–66
D-day, 50
death, smell of, 27
dehydration, 132–33
demobilization, 123
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 198, 202
deploy, defined, 222
deployment bags (“D-bag”), 56, 90
deployment zone, defined, 222
Derry, Chet, 46, 50
Derry, Frank, 46, 50
Derry, Virgil, 46
Derry slotted chute, 50
devil’s club plant, 146–48
diarrhea, 136
dispatch, defined, 222
Division of Occupational Safety and Health, 183
Dodge, Wagner, 53–55
drones, 197–98
drought, 176–77
duff, defined, 222
dynamic-type rappels, 17–18
Eagle Parachute Company, 45
education, 185, 188–89
Eighteen Watchout Situations, 187, 220
82nd Airborne Division, 50
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 55
elk sighting, 140
Emhoff, Jason, 163–64
emotions and stress, 27–28, 84
EMTs, 209
engine, defined, 222
entrapment, defined, 222–23
equipment, firefighting
purchased by smokejumpers, 137–38
for tracking and signalling, 192–94, 196–98
types of, 87–91, 137–38, 191
UAVs, 197–98
escape routes, 95, 223
Esperanza Fire, 197
evacuation orders, 200–201
Facebook, 201
face guards, 89
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 198
female firefighters, 118
female smokejumpers, 62
Fernow, Bernhard, 43
final approach, defined, 223
fire. See also wildfire
backfire, defined, 221
controlled burns, 21–22, 185, 186
creeping, defined, 222
hot spot in, 224
scientific description, 106–9
spot, defined, 227
starting, with alumagel, 21–22, 221
firebombs (“ping-pong balls”), 22
firebrand, defined, 223
fire departments, 40, 187
fire devils, 113–14, 223
firefighters. See also smokejumpers
“back to basics” training, 188–89
continuing education for, 185, 188–89
declining numbers of, 177
equipment for, 191–98
hand crews, 224
hands-on training for, 188–89
jurisdictional conflicts, 202–3
“life and property” creed, 184–85
oaths taken by, 213
prioritizing personal safety of, 184–85
prison inmates working as, 177
Firefly Project, 48
fire hydrants, 40
fire lines
anchor points for, 221
creating, 19–21, 96–98
defined, 19, 223
machines made for, 204
Fire Management Officer (FMO), 223–24
fire pants, 89
fire season, defined, 223
fire shelters
defined, 223
first-generation, 150
history of, 149
how to use, 151–52
leaving too soon, 152
made mandatory by USFS, 150
new designs called for, 151, 195
performance standards for, 195
purpose of, 149–50, 151
technological improvements, 194–95
used at Thirtymile Fire, 160, 195–96
fire shirts, 89
Firestorm (movie), 210
firestorms, 113–14, 223
fire suppression
early Forest Service efforts at, 43–45
Minimum Impact Suppression Techniques (MIST), 142–43
rethinking strategy of, 174, 175
fire weather, defined, 223
first-aid drills, 99
first responders, 209
555th Parachute Infantry Batallion, 48
flammable gases, 108
flank, defined, 223
flares, laser, 196–97
flight gloves, 90
Florida Forest Service, 193–94
Forester drogue, 61
Forest Fire Management Officer (FFMO), 223–24
Franklin, Ben, 40
front, defined, 224
fuel load, defined, 224
fuels, for fire, 107–9, 225
fuels management officer (FMO), 32
fusee (flare), 224
Galena, Alaska, 100–104
Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, 129
gloves, 90
Godwin, David P., 45
GoPro cameras, 192
GPS receivers, 194
GPS satellite communicator, 192–94
GPS tracking systems, 193–94
Granite Mountain Hotshots, 179–80, 181, 184
Great Chicago Fire, 114
Greatland Laser, 196
Great London Fire, 40
Griffith Park Fire, 44
Hagemeyer, Bruce and Paula, 159–60, 165
hammocks, 137–38
hand crew, defined, 224
handheld thermal cameras, 192
hands-on training, 188, 189
Harrison, James, 53, 55
helicopters. See also helitack crews
accidents, 124
Aérospatiale Alouette III 316B, 13
helitorch mounted on, 224
permanent facilities for, 224
rappel exits from, 14–15, 17–18, 226
takeoff and landing spots, 224
turbulence and, 23
heliport, defined, 224
helispot, defined, 224
helitack crews
about, 10–11, 224
in Kernville, CA, 11–15, 17–24, 29–35
Helitack Hill, 11–12, 33–35
helitorch, 21–22, 224
helmets, 89, 133
Hipke, Eric, 117
Hobbs, Gene, 93–94
Hofco machine company, 204
hooch site, defined, 224
Hornbein, Tom, 56–57
hotshots
about, 9
defined, 224
principal tasks, 10
at Yarnell Fire, 179–84
hot spot, defined, 224
incident commander (IC), 10, 29, 166, 193, 224
incident command system (ICS), 9–10, 224
incident management team (IMT), 10
initial attack (IA), 225
insect breakouts, 175–76
insurance companies, 186–87
Interagency Fire Science Laboratory, 55
Johnson, Lyndon B., 55
Johnson’s Flying Service, 47
jumper in charge (JIC), 33, 91, 105, 225
jump list, defined, 225
jump spot, defined, 225
jumpsuits, 88–89, 91–92
jump wings, 86
jurisdictional conflicts, 202–3
Kestrel, 192
Kevlar, 88
knives, 90
ladder fuels, 109, 225
Lake Chelan fires, 123–24, 133–34, 16
9–74
Larson, Charlotte, 62
laser flares, 196–97
laser pointers, 196
LCES system, 95
Lee, William C., 50
letdown rope, 76
Lewis, Meriwether, 149
Libby South Fire, 153, 199
Life magazine, 55
lightning, 113
light sabers, 196
line-cutting machine, 204
line digger, 204
loft, defined, 225
lookouts, 95, 225
Los Alamos National Laboratory, 186
Lufkin, Francis
career highlights, 55
first fire jump, 47
first jump out of a plane, 46
invents line-cutting machine, 204
invents line digger, 204
receives Presidential Award, 55–56
Lufkin Parachute Loft, 88
Mackey, Don, 116, 117, 118
Maclean, Norman, 118
Mann Gulch Fire, 53–55, 118, 210
Marsh, Eric, 181
McLeod hand tool, 20, 225
medical training, 209
medics, 209
megadrought, 177
mindfulness, 189
Minimum Impact Suppression Techniques (MIST), 142–43
mirrors, signal, 196
Missoula Equipment Development Center (MEDC), 62
Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC)
about, 62, 225
fire shelter designs, 151, 195, 196
former name of, 62
mobile phones, 191–92
Mog, 6–7
Moody, Bill, 60–61
mop up, defined, 225
mosquitoes, 102–4
mountain pine beetle, 175–76
mouthguards, 89–90
mutual fire societies, 40
National Fire Protection Agency, 195
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 195, 225
national parks, and fire protocol, 142–43
night-vision monocular, 192
Ninemile Training Camp, 47
Nomex, 21, 88, 225
Normandy invasion, 50
North Cascades Smokejumper Base (NCSB)
history of, 47
job offer from, 35
jumper training at, 68–78, 79–86
location of, 84
response times from, 126–27
Northwest Regulars #6, 156
Obama, Barack, 202
Occupational Safety and Health Division, in Arizona, 183
Okanogan-Wenatchee Fire, 109–11, 120–22
101st Airborne Division, 50
on final, defined, 225
on scene, defined, 226
on station, defined, 226
outdoor sprinkler systems, 187
overhead, defined, 226
pack-out bags, 34, 89
pack-outs, 141–42, 143–45, 146–48
pack-out test, 69–70, 71, 226
paracargo, defined, 226
parachutes
bad landings, 125, 128