EPISODE THEMES

HISTORICAL. North Cascades Smokejumper Base in Twisp, WA the “birthplace of smokejumping (1940)” 30 smokejumpers (4 women, 26 men) will attack the most remote wilderness fires, parachuting into dangerous terrain and hiking out.  We will explore in-depth the long and illustrious history of the base, its founding Father,  Francis Lufkin and how his dream “of fighting fire from the sky” became a reality and is one of the most effective ways to fight wildfires today.

PERSONAL. Dangerous scenarios and an active engagement with the firefighters’ personalities creates an empathetic experience for the viewer. The diversity of the characters, each with their own challenges and motivations in fighting wildfires, creates a wide range of opportunities for viewers to identify with one or several characters. Though FIRELINE is ecologically comprehensive, it transcends the scientific and personalizes the heroism, courage and commitment of human beings with noble motivations. This added appeal shows viewers that wildfires are not simply fought by dumping water or retardant from aircraft but on the ground by real people putting themselves in harm’s way; whether it is by a Native American man protecting his ancestral or a young woman with aggressive career ambitions or a severely injured smokejumper returning to the job after a year of intensive rehabilitation.

FIRE HISTORY. We'll explore in-depth the role of fire in our ecosystem referencing historically significant fires the likes of the great Yellowstone Fire in 1988. What the Forest Service can do to avoid devastating fires and just how badly they are set up to deter those fires. For close to a century the common practice was to suppress fires. Today, that is not the case and the Forest Service is working to recover from 100 years of mis-management, a monumental task and something they fear they may never be able to recover from. There is an abundance of fuel build up due to the “suppress at any cost” mentality and starting fires to reduce fuels is in an attempt to avoid other catastrophic fires.

FIRE, SCIENCE AND ECOLOGY is a key factor in wildfire management. Meet the world’s most renowned experts, scientists, ecologists and get their take on how we can recover the “pristine” wilderness of the late 19th century. This storyline is one of the most interesting to the producers because the state of our nation’s forests is bad. What can be done to reverse the effects created by man? The producers will explore strategies to revive an ecosystem where historically, fire is often considered a bad thing, but in fact fire and fire management is the best thing for our forests. What is a healthy forest? It is NOT the one with the most trees, but the one with fewer and older trees.

LOGGING. Considered by many to be a bad thing when in fact thinning our forests through logging and fire management are two of the best ways to ensure healthy forests for generations to come.

GLOBAL WARMING and its effects on wildfires – This is a growing concern. As temps continue to rise so goes the feeling of apprehension.

WEATHER. Weather plays a significant role in wildfire suppression and management. Lightning is a primary cause of wildfires. We will review how, when, and why weather systems and the accurate prediction of those systems play a significant role in fighting wildfire.

These are just a few of the abundant story lines producers are developing with the unprecedented access; we are free to explore these and a host of other topics. 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.