Rappeller re-cert underway in Oregon

In a forested area west of Bend, Oregon yesterday, Sarah Jakober watched helicopters circling overhead. Soon she’d board one with other rappellers so they could practice jumping out of a perfectly good helicopter.

Actually, they don’t jump — from planes — like smokejumpers. Rappellers, affectionately known by some as sliders, climb out of a helicopter door, balance on the skids with their gear, then slide down their own ropes to a wildland fire below.

Grande Ronde Rappellers with a cargo drop last year
Grande Ronde Rappellers with a cargo drop last year

Jakober is in Bend for two days as part of annual recertification required by the USFS for rappel crews. Michael Kohn of the Bend Bulletin reported on this in a feature published by the Oregon Capital Insider (along with some DANDY photos by Andy Tullis).

Rappel crews typically fly into remote locations not easily reachable in the early stages of a fire by firefighters in ground vehicles.

Jakober is with the Grande Ronde Rappel Crew based out of La Grande. She told Kohn the job’s easier now than when she was a rookie seven years ago. “It was pretty scary,” she said. “I was hyper-focused on what I needed to do.”

2023 Grande Ronde rappel crew
2023 Grande Ronde rappel crew

The Malheur Rappel Crew (MRC), based in John Day, Oregon, is a Type 1 25+person crew specializing in initial attack and helicopter ops. The Malheur base is one of 11 in the USFS nationally. Rappelling as an initial attack fire response began in the Pacific Northwest and the region hosts five of the national bases, with rappellers coordinated at the regional and national level.

Malheur Rappellers
Malheur Rappellers

The Malheur airbase responds to smoke reports on the Malheur National Forest and the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness and includes four wilderness areas in its response zone. Big timber and very few roadways have required rappellers for initial attack; for 40 years there’s been a helicopter based out of John Day.

1997 Malheur Rappel Crew, John Day Airbase
1997 Malheur Rappel Crew, John Day Airbase

The Malheur crew adheres to stringent fitness standards; without fail, the questions they always get include: “What are the minimums? What do I have to do to be considered for entry into the program?” Malheur rappellers are held to the USFS minimum physical standards, like every other program in the agency, including the pack test, which is carrying a 45 lb. pack over 3 miles in under 45 minutes. Beyond that, the rappel program includes the mile-and-a-half run, pull-ups, push-ups, plank tests, and the rappeller pack-out.

Minimum requirements:

1.5-mile run in 11:00 min or less    (AVG: 9:40min)
2:00 min plank    (AVG: 2:40min)
25 push-ups in 1 min    (AVG: 36.5)
7 pull-ups    (AVG: 10.4)
3-mile flat <90 min pack-out 85 lbs.   (AVG: 55:45min)

These physical standards will be met by all members of the program on day one of the season — veteran rappellers, permanent staff, and rookies alike.

Grande Ronde ships at the La Grande base.
Grande Ronde ships at the La Grande base.

Rappel crews typically have a wide range of skills and strengths; Malheur  crewmembers provide a list of quals from ICT5 to DIVS to FEMO.

This variety of skills and experience is typical at a rappel base.

The Grande Ronde Rappellers include these staffed positions:

        • 1 Base Manager (GS-11 PFT)
        • 2 Foremen (GS-9 PFT)
        • 4 Assistant Foremen (GS-7/8 PFT)
        • 6 Squad Leaders (GS-6/7 PSE 18/8)
        • 14 Senior Firefighters (GS-5 PSE 13/13)
        • 16 Seasonal Firefighters (GS-4 or 5 Temp 1039)

About 80 wildland firefighters were certified this week on the Deschutes National Forest. The full story by Michael Kohn on this week’s recertification is [HERE] and is worth the read!

 

Rappeller training in Idaho modified for COVID-19

Rappel training in Salmon ID
Rappel training in Salmon, ID. USFS photo.

Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

CURRENT HEALTH GUIDELINES TO BE IMPLEMENTED AT FIREFIGHTER ACADEMIES

As the fire season approaches, annual firefighter and rappel training conducted in May and June on the Salmon-Challis National Forest in central Idaho continues this year, but with modifications for COVID-19.

“We are taking steps to minimize all risk of exposure in order to keep our wildland firefighters and our communities safe,” said Salmon-Challis National Forest Supervisor Chuck Mark.  “Rappellers provide a vital service as wildland firefighters trained and prepared to operate in aerial operations, and as aerially delivered firefighters.”

Specific mitigation measures include reducing the number of rappellers in training, screening all participants for COVID-19 prior to their travel, closely following current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) health guidelines and social distancing practices, and aligning with the State of Idaho’s mitigations measures for each stage of the plan.

Training events are as follows:

  • Week of May 19: Twenty-three veteran rappellers from six of the twelve Rappel bases around the nation, along with fifteen additional support staff and three helicopters with flight crews training in Salmon.  The training will take place at the Salmon Air Base and Sal Mountain.
  • Week of May 21: Salmon Air Base will be hosting Spotter Emersion training with twenty-three personnel participating in training which will better prepare the trainees for becoming a qualified rappel spotter to deploy rappellers and cargo safely.
  • May 27 through June 7 or until complete: Thirty-nine rookie rappellers, along with fifteen support staff and three helicopters and flight crews training at the Salmon Air Base and Haynes Creek.

The Salmon-Challis National Forest hosts new firefighters from across the country every year for this intensive, performance-based training.  The purpose is to train rappellers and spotters in accordance with the National Rappel Operations Guide; to strengthen leadership, teamwork, and communications within the rappel community, and to produce quality aerial delivered firefighters for use in fire and aviation operations.

The USForest Service National Helicopter Rappel Program’s primary mission is initial attack.  Rappel crews may be utilized for large fire support, all hazard incident operations, and resource management objectives.

Salmon helibase supports Comet Fire

Salmon helibase

Above: Heli-Rappellers at Salmon, Idaho just after they were transported back to the base by a helicopter after supporting the Comet Fire. L to R: Chris Lilley, Jacob Edluna, and Matt Knott.

Thursday we stopped by the U.S. Forest Service Helibase at the airport at Salmon, Idaho. Some of the 19 USFS personnel assigned to the base were supporting the 367-acre Comet Fire 12 miles north of the airport.

Salmon helibase
Eric Ellis, Helibase Manager at the Salmon Heli-Rappeller Base.
Eric Ellis, the Base Manager who was kind enough to show us around, said they saw the lighting strike that ignited the fire on July 26. Later four firefighters from the base rappelled into the steep terrain. The helibase crew also helped to facilitate helicopter water bucket work and sling loads of equipment.

Comet Fire
The Comet Fire north of Salmon, Idaho.
At the base on Thursday was one 205++ helicopter and one K-MAX helicopter. A second 205++ and a Sikorsky were away working on fires.

Salmon helibase
One of HeliMax’s 205++ helicopters lands at Salmon, Idaho July 28, 2016 while supporting the Comet Fire north of Salmon.
Salmon is the home of the largest of the USFS rappel bases. They have two 205++ helicopters assigned that are each staffed seven days a week. The USFS is the only federal land management agency that has wildland firefighters who rappel into fires. The National Park Service has quite a few helitack personnel trained for short haul, the technique of transporting one or more people at the end of a rope attached to a helicopter, but without sliding down the rope.

Salmon helibase
A K-MAX helicopter at the Salmon Helibase July 28. An hour or so later it was dropping water on the Comet Fire
An hour or so after we photographed the K-MAX helicopter at the base, we saw the same ship dropping water on the Comet Fire.

K-MAX Comet Fire
A K-MAX helicopter drops water on the Comet Fire north of Salmon, Idaho July 28, 2016.

Salmon helibase
After they were declared surplus by the military, the Salmon Heli-Rappellers obtained these pieces of helicopters and spent $10,000 each to have them configured exactly like the actual rappel ships in order to make their training as realistic as possible.
 

All photos are by Bill Gabbert

Blue Mountain Rappellers

From the Blue Mountain Rappellers website:

“The Blue Mountain Rappel Crew is a 14-18 person crew of aerially delivered wildland firefighters. We host a Bell 205A++ Helicopter that can deliver 4 rappellers to remote areas anywhere in the nation that has the need. Formerly the Frazier Rappel Crew, the Blue Mountain Rappel Crew has recently moved locations from Ukiah OR, to La Grande OR in 2012. The Base is located at the La Grande airport near the Blue Mountain Interagency Fire Center and the Union and La Grande IHC fire shops. The Base organization consist of a Base Manager, two Assistant Foremen, Two Squadleaders and Two permanent Senior Firefighters in addition to 6 to 10 seasonals. Since 1997 the crew has been delivering firefighters via ropes and helicopters to incidents around the country. As a National fire resource, we respond locally to Initial Attack in North East Oregon as well as mobilize to large fire support and Initial Attack in the lower 48 and Alaska.”

Blue Mountain Rappellers
Blue Mountain Rappellers, 2015. Photo provided by the crew.