Smoke Jumper

Smoke appears over a remote forest . . . and the smokejumpers leap into action! Ride along with these brave men and women and learn about how they do this dangerous job. Additional features include informative captions and sidebars, a Think-About-It section, a phonetic glossary, sources for further research, a table of contents, an index, and an introduction to the author.

When a wildfire breaks out in a remote area of the wilderness, smoke jumpers are called to action. As their plane nears the fire, they leap out and parachute into the forest to fight the blaze. Students will learn about the multiple dangers smoke jumpers are exposed to and how they train to stay safe.

This “terrifying, grimly funny” memoir about fighting forest fires in Alaska offers “an affectionate portrait of a fraternity of daredevils” (The New Yorker). A Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year Fighting fires since 1965, legendary smokejumper Murry A. Taylor finally hung up his chute after the summer of 2000—the worst fire season in more than fifty years. In Jumping Fire, Taylor recounts in thrilling detail one summer of parachuting out of planes to battle blazes in the vast, rugged wilderness of Alaska, with tales of training, digging fire lines, run-ins with bears, and the heroics of fellow jumpers who fell in the line of duty. This unique memoir, filled with humor, fear, tragedy, joy, and countless stories of man versus nature at its most furious, is a “tale of love and loss, life and death, and sheer hard work, set in an unforgiving and unforgettable landscape” (Publishers Weekly). “Filled with adventure, danger and tragedy.” —The New York Times Book Review “A beautifully crafted, wise yet thrilling book.” —Los Angeles Times

The fire that was to change so many lives started with a single shaft of lightning that struck a mountain ridge on a still and moonless night. The woman who camped nearby with her group of troubled teenagers slept on and heard nothing. Until the deadly inferno engulfed the mountain, and into the flames leaped The Smoke Jumper. His name is Connor Ford and he braves he the flames to save the woman he loves but cannot have, for Julia Bishop is the partner of his closest friend, Ed Tully. Julia loves them both but the tragedy on Snake Mountain forces her to choose between them and burns a brand on all their hearts. In the wake of the fire, Connor travels to the world's worst wars and disasters to take photographs that find him fame but not happiness. Reckless of a life he no longer wants, he dares death to take him, until another fateful day on another continent, when he must walk through fire again ...

Swede's adventures include a summer on a fire lookout, deployment as a Marine to Korea, smoke jumping, fire suppression, timber forester, aviation management, hunting, assisting Montana Game Wardens, ski patrol, an ambulance EMT, and back country rescue. During the course of his employment as a Forester with the Northern Pacific Railway and with the U.S. Forest Service, he broke a leg smoke jumping, fell through the ice on the Swan River, dodged falling trees during a wind shear event, almost got burned up twice, and lost a pickup truck in a fire entrapment.

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Smoke jumpers jump out of aircraft to fight wildfires in remote locations. They work as a team to keep people safe. Learn about their gear, their techniques, and the dangers these firefighting heroes face.

Discusses how smoke jumpers work together to put out forest fires.

Provides information on the men and women who risk their lives daily by extinguishing wildfires by placing themselves in the heart of the fire.