canopies, defined, 222
Capewell release system, 76, 222
controlled tumble landings, 77, 226
D-bag chute system, 56, 90
Derry slotted chute, 50
first firefighting experiments with, 45–47
FS-12 chute, 61
FS-14 chute, 75, 205, 206
inspecting, 90
jump positions, 82, 83
the “Lesnik” Forester, 61
malfunctions, 81
packing, 90–91
parachute landing fall (PLF), 77, 226
practicing plane exits with, 75–76
practicing tree letdowns, 75–76
ram-air chutes, 205–7, 226
reserve chutes, 81, 93–94
retrieving from trees, 76, 132
round chutes, 205–7
Soviet chute system, 60–61
static line system, 50
technological improvements, 50
tree landings with, 131–32
two systems used, 204–5
water landings with, 130
parachute simulation towers, 227
paratroopers, 58, 82
Pateros, Washington, 200
Pearson, T.V., 44
personal gear (PG) bags, 90, 226
Peshtigo Fire, 114
phones, 191–92
pike position, 82, 83
Pinchot, Gifford, 43
“ping-pong balls” (firebombs), 22
planes
accidents, 124
Automatic Flight Following for, 193
Shorts C-23 Sherpa, 79–80
turbulence in, 23, 124–25
Planes: Fire and Rescue (movie), 208
point-of-view video cameras, 192
portable solar system (powermonkey), 192
portable weather station, 192
potty poncho, 104
“pounders,” 201, 226
powermonkey, 192
Product Research Gear, LLC (PRg), 203–4
PT tests, 68–78
public service, 213–14
pulaski, 20, 204, 226
Pulaski, Ed, 39, 42–43
ram-air chutes, 205–7, 226
rappels
defined, 226
description of, 14–15, 17–18
dynamic-type, 17–18
Red Skies of Montana (movie), 55, 210
Remmel Fire, 155
remote-controlled aircraft, 197–98
respiratory issues, 132
retardant, defined, 226
rhabdomyolysis, 132
rhino tool, 20
Rim Fire, 176
Riverside County Fire Department, 2, 24–25
Robinson, Rufus, 47
rocks, runaway, 133–34
rookie smokejumpers, 98, 226
Roosa, Stuart, 57
Roth, Jim, 194–95, 196
Roth, Roger, 118, 194
Rumsey, Walter, 55
Russia, 60–61
safety zones, 95, 226
Sallee, Robert, 55, 210
sawyers, 19–20, 132, 226
“selective fuels reduction,” 186
sewing jumper gear, 87–88
shelters. See fire shelters
Shulman, Deanne, 62
signal mirrors, 196
Silcox, Gus, 44
Sisler, George (Ken), 58–59
situational awareness, 189
SkyGenie, 14
skyjacking incident, 59–60
slash, defined, 226
Smith, Glenn, 47
smoke alarms, 187
smokejumper bases
in 1940, 47
budget cuts for, 61
lofts at, 225
map of, 8–9
smokejumper program
in Alaska, 56
average injury rate, 208
careers with, 57
changes after Storm King, 119–20
during the Cold War, 60–61
conscientious objectors recruited for, 48
cost of, 207–8
first jump in US history, 47
future of, 210–11
government commits to, 55
lack of recognition, 208–11
origins of, 45
promotion efforts needed for, 210–11
rookie training at NCSB, 68–78, 79–86
in 1950s, 55–56
in 1960s, 56–59
in 1970s, 59–61
in 1980s, 61–62
standardizing training and procedures, 62–63
during Vietnam War, 58
during World War II, 47–51
smokejumpers
alpha personalities, 212
antijumper attitudes towards, 57–58, 207–8
bucket drops on, 170–71
cargo box food supplies, 96
dangers faced by, 124–25, 128–33
defined, 227
drawbacks of lifestyle, 211
equipment for, 87–91, 137–38
female, 62
high pain thresholds, 129
intrinsic rewards from job, 211–12, 214–15
jumper in charge (JIC), 33, 91, 105, 225
jump order, 225
jump spots for, 225
jurisdictional conflicts, 202–3
“life and property” creed, 184–85
mid-air collisions, 206
National User Guide for, 209
oaths taken by, 213
physical training for, 33–35
prioritizing personal safety of, 184–85
rookies, 98, 226
salaries paid to, 211
sewing skills, 87–88
skills and abilities, 208–9
stereotypes of, 30–31, 210
snags, 133, 227
snookie, defined, 227
solar system, portable (powermonkey), 192
SOS devices, 192–93, 196
Soviet Union, 60–61
spot fire, defined, 227
spotters, 92–93, 227
static line system, 50
stones, rolling, 133–34
storm cells, 113
Storm King Fire, 18, 63, 115–20, 209
Storm King Mountain Technologies, 195
streamers, 80–81, 227
stress, 27–28, 84
Studies and Observations Group (SOG), 59
subalpine fir, 109
superheating, 108
swampers, 19–20, 227
“Tablets,” 12
tango union, defined, 227
tanker, defined, 227
“Tanker TV,” 193
“10 & 18,” 187–88
Ten Standard Firefighting Orders, 187, 219
terpenes, 108
terrain, and fire, 111–12
thermal camera, handheld, 192
Thirtymile Fire, 154–67, 195–96
Thrash, Jim, 118
Three-Finger Jacks saloon, 84
Thunder Mountain Fire, 155
thunderstorms, 113
Tillamook Burn, 43–44
torching (candling), 222
tower, defined, 227
training, hands-on, 188, 189
trauma gear, 209
trees
candling, defined, 222
falling, dangers of, 133
parachute landings in, 75–76, 131–32
rappels from, 226
removing parachutes from, 132
snags, dangers of, 133, 227
thinning, in forests, 185–86
widow-makers, 133, 227
Triple Nickles, 48, 210
Truman, Harry, 49
turbulence, 23, 124–25
Twisp, Washington, 200
two-manner, defined, 227
Tyee Fire, 170
Tyler, Rich, 15, 18–19, 115
Type 1 crews, 9, 10, 224
Unimog, 6–7
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 197–98
Unsoeld, Willi, 56–57
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 43
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
call for new fire shelter designs, 195
classroom education at, 188
early fire-suppression efforts, 43–45
first experiments with parachutes, 45
hands-on training at, 188, 189
money spent on thinning forests, 185–86
money spent on WUI fires, 178
National User Guide for smokejumpers, 209
Region 5 territory, 36
round chutes used by, 205–7
USSR, 60–61
Verizon, 201
video cameras, 192
Vietnam War, 58
volunteer fire companies, 40
Waldo Canyon Fire, 176
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 198, 202
water
Bambi Bucket, 21
bucket drops, 170–71, 173
cubie, defined, 222
lack of, and dehydration, 132–33
parachute landings in, 130
weather, and fire, 112–14, 223
weather station, portable, 192
Welch, Rebecca, 160, 165
Whittaker, Jim, 56
widow-makers, 133, 227
wild animals, 145–46
wildfire
backfires set for, 221
beauty and danger in, 212–13
biological impact of, 174–75
blowups, defined, 221
burnovers and, 149, 195–96
contained, defined, 222
creeping fire, defined, 222
crown fire, defined, 222
fighting, changing mind-set of, 209
fire suppression strategy, 43–45, 142–43, 174, 175
flank, defined, 223
hot spots in, 224
initial attack (IA) on, 225
ladder fuels and, 109, 225
mop up stage, 225
peak seasons for, 223
predictions about, 177–78
statistics on, 176
terrain variables, 111–12
types of fuels for, 107–9
weather variables, 112–14, 223
wildfires
Bandelier National Monument Fire, 186
“Big Burn,” 39, 41–43
Black Forest Fire, 176
Blackwater Fire, 44
Carlton Complex Fire, 198, 199–203, 209
Coeur d’Alene Fire, 39, 41–43
Esperanza Fire, 197
Great Chicago Fire, 114
Great London Fire, 40
Griffith Park fire, 44
Lake Chelan fires, 123–24, 133–34, 169–74
Libby South Fire, 153, 199
Mann Gulch Fire, 53–55, 118, 210
Peshtigo Fire, 114
Remmel Fire, 155
Rim Fire, 176
Storm King Fire, 18, 63, 115–20, 209
Thirtymile Fire, 154–67, 195–96
Thunder Mountain Fire, 155
Tillamook Burn, 43–44
Tyee Fire, 170
Waldo Canyon Fire, 176
Yarnell Fire, 179–84, 185, 195, 209
wildland-urban interface (WUI), 177–78, 186, 209
wind, and wildfires, 112–13
wings, jumper, 86
Winthrop, Washington, 84, 200
World War II, 47–51
Yarnell Fire, 179–84, 185, 195, 209
Young Men and Fire (Maclean), 118
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JASON A. RAMOS has devoted twenty-six years of his life to the fire service. He began his career at age seventeen as a volunteer with the Riverside County Fire Department, then progressed to wildland firefighting in Southern California. Now a smokejumper in his sixteenth season, he is based in Winthrop, Washington, at the North Cascades Smokejumper Base, the birthplace of smokejumping.
JULIAN SMITH received a Banff Mountain Book Award and a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Crossing the Heart of Africa and has written for Outside, Wired, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Traveler, Discover, Smithsonian, and the Washington Post. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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CREDITS
COVER DESIGN BY AMANDA KAIN
COVER PHOTOGRAPH © BY DOD PHOTO/ALAMY
COPYRIGHT
SMOKEJUMPER. Copyright © 2015 by Jason A. Ramos. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-231962-3
EPub Edition JULY 2015 ISBN 9780062319647
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* A glossary of potentially unfamiliar terms appears on page 219.