What It’s Like To Be A Smokejumper In Montana's Fire Season

If you’ve stepped outside lately, you’ve seen it. That haze on the horizon isn’t morning fog. It’s wildfire smoke. Fire season is flexing its muscles, and it’s only just beginning.

Jumping Into the Flames

Most of us, when we see smoke, drive the other way. But out of Missoula comes a different breed of firefighter who does the opposite. The Missoula Smokejumper Base is the nation’s first, established in 1940 and still training the men and women who parachute into some of the nastiest, most remote fire camps on the map. They don’t just stumble into danger; they jump into it feet first.

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Bird’s Eye View with Metallica

I found a video that shows exactly what it looks like when a team of smokejumpers bails out of a plane into the heart of a wildfire. To crank up the intensity, the footage is set to Metallica. There’s nothing like a little “Ride the Lightning” while you watch a crew plummet into hellfire. It’s part rock concert, part mind-blowing firefight, and all homegrown hero.

Why They’re Montana Legends

These aren’t movie superheroes. They’re regular folks from right here, trained in Missoula, stepping up when the rest of us are headed the other way. They don’t wear capes, but in my book, a parachute and a Pulaski are way more metal.

So the next time you see that smoky horizon, remember there’s a team of smokejumpers out there turning wildfire into just another day at the office.

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