The base for the North Cascades Smoke Jumpers. They claim to be the beginning of smoke jumpers, starting in 1939. We went to visit and a nice kid, Ryan, came out and gave us a tour and answered lots of questions, showed us a little video also. Amazing job they do. He has been doing this job 10 years and is a spotter now. Not jumping as much as he'd like but loves his job. He is the guy on the plane that tells the guys when to jump out. Don't need any prior jumping experience to apply. Sometimes guys have never been up in a plane before. I took many pictures. Wanted to buy a t-shirt, but they were low on size supply. So got a patch is all and many Smoky the bear decals, magnets, etc. Their crew has been out on 61 fires this year. Typical U.S. Forest service, Jack says, they jump in with only 2 to 4 guys! Wow can't imagine.
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