Smokejumpers are elite wildland firefighters trained to parachute into remote ignition zones where no engine crew can reach in time. They’re part firefighter, part paratrooper, part field medic, and for decades, they’ve been an important part of rapid wildfire response in the U.S.
But behind the mythology is a demanding, underpaid, and physically brutal job that most people, even those inside the fire service, barely understand. If you’re a fire investigator, knowing what smokejumpers actually do can give you deeper insight into suppression timelines, fire behavior under extreme conditions, and how air-ground coordination affects your casework.
This guide explains who smokejumpers are, what they do, how much they make, and why their role matters.
Table of Contents
What Smokejumpers Are and Why They Exist
Smokejumpers are wildland firefighters who parachute into remote fire starts, usually in the first 24 hours after ignition. They were created out of necessity. In the early 1940s, massive fires in the Pacific Northwest overwhelmed ground crews. Fixed-wing aircraft could see the fires but couldn’t get firefighters in fast enough. Parachutes changed that.
Today, smokejumpers are stationed in select locations across the U.S., with primary bases in Missoula, Montana, McCall, Idaho, and Redding, California, among others. Their main mission is a rapid initial attack on fires in inaccessible terrain.
They travel light, work fast, and stay self-sufficient in the backcountry for up to 72 hours. Their presence can make the difference between a quick containment and a multi-week, multi-million-dollar campaign fire.
What Smokejumpers Do on the Ground
Smokejumpers immediately shift from airborne insertion to frontline suppression, often in rugged, high-elevation terrain where engines can’t access and helicopters can't safely land. They're operating alone or in small teams, sometimes hours ahead of any ground backup. Everything they need to survive and suppress the fire follows in cargo sticks, bundled equipment parachuted in behind them.
This gear includes chainsaws, pulaskis, drip torches, hose packs, radios, food, shelter, water, and trauma kits, enough for 48 to 72 hours of self-sufficiency. Once established on the ground, their work is fast, strategic, and highly technical. They:
- Build handlines by cutting, digging, and scraping down to mineral soil to box in the fire and stop its spread
- Conduct burnout operations to remove unburned fuels ahead of the flame front
- Clear snags and hazard trees that can drop burning branches or fall unpredictably
- Perform emergency medical response, including trauma care and heat illness stabilization
- Gather and relay intel on fire growth, fuel types, wind shifts, and potential escape routes
- Coordinate with air attack, helitack, and engine crews to align aerial drops with ground containment
In some cases, smokejumpers are the only ones on the scene for hours. That means quick decisions with no margin for error. Whether it’s a five-acre lightning start or a wind-driven ridge fire, they’re tasked with aggressive initial attack, often without comms or reinforcements.
Smokejumpers and Fire Investigation Coordination
Smokejumpers are often the first trained personnel on a fire, which makes their observations critical for investigators. While not trained investigators themselves, their debriefs, GPS logs, and initial suppression decisions can provide:
- First observations of fire direction, wind behavior, and fuel load
- Possible access points for arson suspects or ignition sources
- Documentation of ignition zone conditions prior to suppression disturbance
- Early camera footage or still photos for time-of-ignition modeling
If smokejumpers were first on scene, request their jump manifests, incident reports, and any IRPG (Incident Response Pocket Guide) notes. These records can be gold when reconstructing early fire behavior or ruling out human activity.
Training and Qualifications for Smokejumpers
Most smokejumpers start with years of wildland fire experience. Engine crews, hotshots, or helitack roles are typical stepping stones.
Minimum requirements include:
- At least one full season of wildland firefighting
- Passing the Pack Test
- Additional physical fitness tests like pull-ups, push-ups, run, and sit-ups
- Completion of S-130, S-190, L-180, and jump-specific training
- Successful evaluation during rookie training camp
Only a small percentage of applicants make it through. Smokejumpers are expected to be self-reliant, highly disciplined, and capable of handling injuries, equipment failures, or entrapments in areas with no backup.
How Much Do Smokejumpers Make?
The average pay for a federal smokejumper ranges between $12 and $17 per hour, depending on GS (General Schedule) classification, overtime, and hazard pay. During fire season, the bulk of their income comes from extended shifts and time-and-a-half hours.
| Role |
Average Hourly Rate |
Approx. Seasonal Total |
| Rookie Smokejumper |
$17–$20/hr |
$35,000–$45,000/year |
| Veteran Smokejumper |
$22–$25/hr |
$50,000–$60,000/year |
| Spot Foreman |
$28–$35/hr |
$65,000+ (with overtime) |
These are seasonal totals. Most federal smokejumpers are classified as temporary employees, which means they do not receive pay outside the fire season unless hired for off-season duties like prescribed burns or equipment maintenance.
Pay rates in California for federal smokejumpers remain consistent with national GS scales, though the cost of living is significantly higher. Some California-based jumpers pursue state-level or contract roles during the off-season to supplement income.
Why Smokejumpers Are Underpaid
For a role that demands elite fitness, technical precision, field autonomy, and aerial deployment into literal fire, smokejumpers are grossly underpaid. The compensation doesn’t come close to matching the risk, workload, or expertise required, especially when compared to structural firefighters or private-sector emergency responders.
Many smokejumpers leave the job within three to five seasons because they can’t build a sustainable life around a paycheck that disappears at the end of fire season. When you’re risking your life for less than $20/hour and still working part-time gigs in winter just to make rent, something’s broken.
Here are a few reasons why the pay is so low:
- Federal budget constraints: Wildland fire funding is historically reactive, not preventative. Most money goes to suppression, not workforce stability.
- Seasonal classifications: The majority of smokejumpers are hired as “1039 seasonal” employees, which limits them to 1,039 hours per year and disqualifies them from year-round benefits, healthcare, or retirement contributions.
- Outdated GS pay scales: Even experienced smokejumpers are often stuck at GS-5 to GS-7 levels, with minimal room for progression or locality adjustments in high-cost regions like California.
- Limited federal advocacy until recently: For decades, smokejumpers lacked a formal union or advocacy body fighting for their classification. Without political leverage, pay stayed frozen while the job got harder.
What’s Being Done to Fix It
Efforts to fix this have gained traction. In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included a temporary base pay raise of $20,000 or 50% of salary for many federal wildland firefighters. But that increase wasn’t permanent, and didn’t cover everyone. Advocacy groups like Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), and Keep It Federal continue to push for:
- Permanent year-round firefighter classification
- Pay parity with structural fire counterparts
- Mental health and healthcare access
- Full benefits eligibility and retirement protections
Until federal compensation reflects the complexity and danger of the job, the community will keep bleeding talent.
Films That Honor the Fallen Smokejumpers
Smokejumping carries real, unflinching risk. Over the decades, multiple jumpers have died during fire operations due to entrapments, parachute failures, aircraft crashes, and drop zone miscalculations.
The 2017 feature film Only the Brave, while centered on the Granite Mountain Hotshots, is often mistakenly linked to smokejumpers because of its elite-crew focus and action-heavy wildland firefighting scenes. The film honors the 19 hotshots who died during the Yarnell Hill Fire, but its impact has rippled across all tiers of the wildfire profession.
Other films and documentaries that intersect with smokejumper history or culture include Red Skies of Montana Firestorm (1998), and Trial by Fire (2008).
Actual smokejumper fatalities have occurred in:
- The Mann Gulch Fire (1949): 13 smokejumpers died after being overrun by fire in steep Montana terrain, a tragedy that directly led to the invention of the escape fire technique and overhaul of fire behavior training.
- The South Canyon Fire (1994): 14 firefighters, including smokejumpers and hotshots, died on Storm King Mountain, Colorado. This led to major changes in LCES protocols, fire shelter deployment standards, and crew communication procedures.
- Various aircraft crashes: Multiple smokejumpers have been killed in fixed-wing and cargo aircraft crashes over the years, often during low-visibility missions or load drops into rugged terrain.
Smokejumper Training is Just the Beginning
Smokejumping is a job defined by speed, trust, exhaustion, and near-constant uncertainty. But it’s also defined by quiet professionalism. Smokejumpers are tacticians, survivors, and sometimes, the only line of defense between a small ignition and a regional disaster.
If you're a fire investigator, understanding the role of smokejumpers helps you see the full picture of how fires are fought, documented, and sometimes lost. Their field reports, flight logs, and firsthand observations are often the earliest reliable intel you’ll get.
But beyond investigation and suppression, it’s a stark reminder that the people we rely on to hold the line don’t always get the recognition, the pay, or the support they deserve.
