KINDS OF CREWS Hotshots:
Hotshots work the hottest parts of the biggest fires.
Descended from the CCC crews of the 1930s, the 65 hotshot
crews in the US are the primary hand crews fighting
forest fires. They range from Fairbanks, Alaska, to
Asheville, North Carolina, but most of them are in the
western continental US--almost half of them in
California.
Hotshot crews on
the web:
Diamond Mountain (CA)
Hotshots;Midnight Sun and Chena (AK) Hotshots;Pike (CO) Hotshots;Sawtooth (ID) Hotshots;
Stories about hotshots:
Bighorn/Wyoming Hotshotsand the Globe (AZ) Hotshots from Wildland Firefighter Magazine; a story about the Tahoe
(CA) Hotshots; a Hotshot Photo Journal.
Engine
crews:
In the flat sagebrush desert of the Intermountain West,
or the fast-burning, road-streaked chapparal of Southern
California, the engine is the fire fighting tool of
choice. Ranging from 3/4 ton trucks with 150 gallons to
"heavies" carrying up to 3000 gallons, the fire
engine is customized to meet the fire fighters' needs.
Compared to structural fire engines, wildland fire trucks
are smaller, often 4-WD, and can "pump and
roll"--deliver water while moving. Engine work can
be fast an furious , doing the initial attack on a going
brush fire, or very slow, while mopping up or waiting for
a fire.
Helitack/heli-rappellers:
The helicopter-borne crews perform initial attack in much
of America's wilderness. Rappellers are let down from
heights of 50 to 150 feet above the ground. Helitack
crews find a suitable landing spot from which they attack
the fire. On large fires, helitack crews perform a
support mission, ferrying crews and supplies to their
destinations.
Helitack crews on
the web: Alberta Helitack (unofficial site); Monument (CO) Helitack
For more information, visit: International Helicopter
Firefighters Association
Smokejumpers:
Smokejumpers parachute to small wilderness fires that are
not otherwise accessible. They also manage paracargo
operations, and occasionally serve as supervisors on
larger fires or form into hand crews.
For more
information, visit: Robert Hubble's Smokejumper
Page,
Dan McComb's Photo Journal
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