Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 21 0800 Get up and greet the morning, have a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. Ponder the thoughts of what the day might bring and dress accordingly—boots, pants, t-shirt, folding belt knife and a few bucks jammed into your back pocket. 0845 Check in at the Base's Operations Desk to update on the outcome of previous day's fire activity and what is coming at us for the new day. Find out from Forest Dispatch in Bozeman (our controlling dispatch of- fice) that the fire activity has increased in the GYA (Greater Yellowstone Area), the primary area the WYS (Yellowstone Airport) base serves. 0915 A fire call is received from Bozeman dispatch to respond to a fire on the Bridger-Teton Forest. Jumpers are expected to suit up in 5 minutes and be ready for inspection by the Spotter (or crew chief, if you will) before getting on the aircraft. 0951 Props turn on our plane, Jumper 13 (J-13). It taxis to runway 19 and is ready for takeoff at West Yellowstone Airport. 1012 The Spotter on J-13 calls Bozeman Dispatch for the routine 15-minute safety check-in, gives them our location and tells them we will be switch- ing to the B-T Forest Dispatch for the next check-in. The spotter then calls B-T Dispatch and gives them our location, and an ETA to the Firebox Fire, as it is now called. During the flight the jumpers are swapping stories and enjoying the view of the Greater Yellowstone Area, which is awesome. 1035 The Spotter calls B-T Dispatch and confirms the GPS and map lo- cation is correct for the Firebox Fire and will be dropping 4 jumpers on it. The inflight door is opened and cool, fresh air circulates through the cabin. The jumpers know it is time to put al their training to use. The Spotter drops weighted 10' long crepe paper streamers directly over a safe opening near the fire. Spotter tells the pilot over intercom "streamer away." The pilot knows to circle the aircraft so the spotter and jumpers can watch streamers descend, giving them a clue as to what the winds are doing. The streamers land 150 yards past the spot. The pilot knows to now fly from the streamers to the spot and the spotter lets the second set out upwind of the spot. The streamers go right in. Spotter asks for two jumpers to get in the door. The parachute static lines are hooked to the static cable, spotter tells the jumpers they are all clear. First jumper gone. Second jumper follows. 1045 Two jumpers are in the air—they make sure they stay a safe dis- tance apart on their descent to the jump spot. The first jumpers land in the spot. The J-13 is now over the exit point, and the second two jumpers exit the plane. 1055 All jumpers being on the ground and ok, time to drop their cargo. The first jumper now becomes the jumper-in-charge (Incident Com- mander, or IC) and asks for the cargo to be dropped in the jump spot. The highly skilled pilot flies 200 feet above the spot and signals the spotter to eject the fire boxes. With two passes the fire boxes (containing fire tools and provisions) are dropped and the J-13 climbs for altitude. by GREG ANDERSON GREG ANDERSON is a 3rd generation Montanan. His father moved his family to the Gallatin Valley in the late 1950s. Greg followed his dad horseback-riding throughout the mountains of the area, as his dad was a Game Warden for the State of Montana. It was a natural choice for him to find a job in the mountains of his own backyard. Once in the Forest Service Smoke Jumper Program the backyard got bigger—Alaska to New Mexico, California to the Dakotas. JUMP JACKET AND PANTS (PADDED KEVLAR) WIRE MESH FACE MASK HELMET HIGH COLOR FOR TREE LANDINGS PARACHUTE HARNESS RESERVE PARACHUTE PERSONAL CEAR BAG ROPE IN LEG POCKET FOR TREE LANDINGS LEG POCKET FOR STORAGE MISSOULA SMOKEJUMPERS VISITOR CENTER

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