WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS

WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS are a special breed. They are highly trained, dedicated, and have to maintain peak physical fitness. During the month of June, we have taped hundreds of hours of footage of the training that each class of firefighter has to go through before the fire season. There are several types:

• SMOKEJUMPERS - Based at the “birthplace of smokejumping (1940)” in Twisp, WA, 30 smokejumpers (4 women, 26 men) will attack the most remote wilderness fires, parachuting into dangerous terrain and hiking out. We followed 9 rookies throughout basic training. Two dropped out on the first day of “boot camp” - the training was just too tough. But seven made it through; weíll follow them as well as the veterans as they fight fires this summer. The NCSB smokejumpers are a varied group, full of diverse characters. There are four women, one of whom is coming back from a broken back and shattered pelvis on a jump last year. We were there as she took her first jump after a year of intense rehab. One squad leader, with dreadlocks down to his hips, likes to call the group “glorified ditch diggers.” He is a no-nonsense vet with and leads by example. The most senior vet is a smokejumping legend, with a record of over 700 jumps.

• HOTSHOTS - These are the elite “special forces” of the wildland firefighting world. They fight the biggest, most dangerous fires that threaten lives and property. They work as a team to build fire lines faster and better than anyone. We will be with them as they fight the most spectacular blazes in the West and our embedded crew will be there to capture the Entiat Hotshots in action.

• RAPPELLERS - As a group, the 25 men and women of the Wenatchee Valley Rappellers are young, tough, ripped, and gung-ho. They rappel down 250 foot ropes from helicopters into narrow ravines that not even smokejumpers can get to. Brothers Ben and Casey have movie star looks and killer bods. Pauline barely weighs 110 pounds (her pack weighs almost as much as her) but she holds the all time sit-up record at the base. Heather is another hard core female firefighter, who on the recent rookie pack out carried theheaviest pack at 117lbs. The “pack out” is an extreme physical test, a challenge to both the body and the mind. Heather was the only female rookie.

• GROUND FORCES – We’ll follow Troy a first year firefighter who is carrying on the family tradition, his Father was a wildland firefighter and he was inspired to do the same. Monika, a hard-nosed, attractive blond on the short list for rapid promotion. She has the leadership skills and the personality to carry entire story lines. Jared, a Yakima Native American, is considered a role model to other Native Americans. His passion for the protecting the “sanctity” of his ancestral land is a driving force in his life.

• OTHERS. These are the three main groups we will follow on the fire line, but we will cover the entire spectrum of firefighters: INITIAL ATTACK CREWS, who are first on the scene on any fire accessible by ground; ENGINE CREWS, they are the first on the scene of any accessible fire and are masters at moving water. If you need water at the top of the mountain, these crews are the ones to get it there.

HELITACK UNITS, who patrol the skies, monitor fire activity, and drop water on fires; AIR TANKERS, huge planes that fly unbelievably close to the ground to drop massive loads of retardant on big fires, and others.

• Coordinating operations is a huge task, and we will also be in INTERAGENCY COMMAND DISPATCH CENTER one of the busiest and most chaotic places anywhere during high fire season.

Between them, these groups will fight hundreds of fires during the summer, and our crews will be on the fire line with them. SMG is the first production company to be granted full access from the Forest Service to document an entire fire season with all the wildland firefighting forces in one region.