The Official Malheur Rappel Crew Website

From my kitchen window, I can see these folks training right now - or at least I can see and hear the copter as it hovers above the hill across the valley; generally that means there are firefighters working their way down ropes to the ground. It's a job that calls for a lot of training and some pretty tough people:

Rappelling is a fast and efficient way of getting to fires in remote areas. Firefighters rappel from hovering helicopters up to 250 feet above the ground. Typical fires are lightning caused, generally small in size and require 2-4 rappellers to suppress. Rappellers remain on the fire until it is declared out or relieved by other resources. At the end of the fire rappellers will pack their gear, weighing 80-125 pounds, to the nearest trailhead.

Use the title link to learn more.