Aerially Delivered Firefighters
Smokejumpers and helicopter rappellers are the two aerial-delivered initial attack resources in American wildland fire. Both answer the same question: how do you get firefighters onto a remote fire quickly when no road goes there? Smokejumpers parachute from fixed-wing airplanes. Rappellers descend on ropes from hovering helicopters.
They have different strengths, and the national response depends on both.
Delivery method
A smokejumper exits a fixed-wing aircraft and descends by parachute to a jump spot near the fire, with cargo dropped separately. A rappeller descends a rope from a helicopter hovering directly above the insertion point, often a small opening in the timber, with gear lowered on a separate line. Parachutes need a workable jump spot and winds; rappelling is precise down to a very small opening.
Aircraft and range
Jump aircraft fly faster and farther than helicopters and carry more firefighters and cargo per load, so smokejumpers can cover huge geography and are routinely mobilized across the country. Helicopters trade range for versatility: the same aircraft that delivers the rappellers can stay to drop water, shuttle cargo, fly reconnaissance, and extract the crew when the fire is out.
On the ground
After the descent, the jobs converge. Both arrive in small teams, often two firefighters, with enough equipment to be self-sufficient for multiple operational periods. Both size up the fire, cut line, fell hazard trees, mop up, and call the fire out. Both finish with a long packout, carrying 100+ pounds of gear to a road or pickup point.
Organizationally, smokejumping is a standalone program run by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Rappelling is a capability within the helitack program, so rappel crews also do conventional helicopter crew work.
Why both exist
Geography decides. Vast, remote country far from any helibase favors the reach of jump aircraft. Steep, densely timbered terrain with few openings, like the country the North Idaho Rappellers protect, favors a helicopter that can hover over a hole in the canopy. Fire managers dispatch whichever resource fits the fire, and on busy days, both.
In this section
- FIREWildland Fire HubThe starting point for this section.
- RAPPELHelicopter RappellersWhat wildland fire rappel crews are and why they exist.
- JUMPSmokejumpingParachute-delivered wildland firefighters, explained.
- COMPAREdifferent types of Aerially delivered firfightersYou are here
- CREWSWildland Fire CrewsThe full guide to the major crew types.