Office of the Secretary

For Release: March 5, 1998

Contact: John Wright 202/208-6416

U.S. Smoke Jumpers are highly skilled wildland firefighters that use parachutes

for transportation into remote areas to provide initial response to wildland fires

The Learning Channel network will televise a documentary episode entitled “Smoke Jumpers Boot Camp” which will focus on the training and preparation of a 23-person team conducting training exercises. The segment is scheduled to air Saturday, March 7, from 8-9 p.m. and again at 11- midnight (EST).

The Smoke Jumpers are an elite group of interagency specialists from the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture that are considered the most highly skilled wildland firefighters in the nation. They use parachutes as transportation into remote areas in to order to provide initial attack on wildland fires.

Alexandria Productions, Inc. in cooperation with The Learning Channel Adventure Series, followed smoke jumpers throughout their training sessions at a base in Oregon to demonstrate their physical and mental fitness, and the well-disciplined teamwork required of this elite firefighting force. The segment takes the viewer through the grueling hardship and intensity of the training and tell the personal stories of the smoke jumpers from their first jump and fire training in forested areas.

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