Second look. In late june 19 firefighters died while battling a wildfire in arizona. Its a reminder of how dangerous and deadly fire season can be. While those firefighters were on the ground there were also those who risked their lives on the air trying to douse the flames from above. In 1996, Bob Mackenzie brought us their story. Reporter a furious fire kicks out of control in the mountains near big suhr. Each forest fire is different but in some ways theyre all the same. There are tires troops in the trenches, an overworked air force in the sky, top brass running the show. And front line soldiers fighting to gain a little ground. Its a war except the enemy isnt human. Okay let me check. Reporter gus norman who can fix any aircraft has been the main engineer, the two trust each other absolutely. That and their faith in the 50 yearold airport gives them the security they have on one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. Fighting fires from airplanes. The statistics tell the story. There are about 30 california forestry airplanes. In october 1992, air tanker 61 a modified dc7 made its final drop on a forest fire in el dorado county. And two minutes later the plane crashed killing both men on board. In june that same year another cdf tanker went down near sacramento and the list goes on. We try not to think about the hazards of the operation. You try to put a positive attitude toward it. If a guy goes out there and keeps his head where its supposed to be, you can keep the statistics down a little bit. Reporter youve known some men who have died doing this . Ive lost a lot of good friends in this business. Reporter youve gone into situations up there where you were nervous . I would say anxious not really nervous. I have complete faith in the captain. Reporter the men who fly for cdf are civilians under contract. They get paid to wait but get paid more when they fly. They want the money but they also want the action. Its the reason theyre here. On a recent morning, ted and gus got their flying orders. Yesterday morning we were on three. You worked out fine. Now its your turn to the back of the pack. He leaves and you guys can back up. Reporter cdf rules prohibits taking journalists on the aircraft. But we placed a camera on the tail end of the wing for a bird eye view. Gear up. Reporter a spotter plane carrying one of the fire managers goes ahead. The lead tanker leads the airplanes . Copy 65. Were over here on the east side of the fire. I need you to come in at 3,500. Were using 3000 now. That will give you the full load at a coverage level six. 3000 level six the whole load. Reporter the fire in the big suhr mountains has proved a treacherous opponent. Seeming to be under control for a while then breaking out again. Were turning and right behind you. A slight right turn to correct. Correct it, just hold your heading there once you get it down. I got it here. Full flaps. There we go. Reporter dropping retardant means flying low and slow. Often in the conditions where the terrain is steep and the visibility isnt good. Experienced pilots always want to know how theyre going to get out before they go into a drop but they cant always control the conditions. All of a sudden the lead plane disappears and youre all covered up in smoke and you dont know what direction he went. Because the terrain wont give when you run into it, thats it. Reporter ted and gus come home safely as they always have. Ready to load up and go again. I have a lot of faith in the good lord, its paid off because hes saved my case a lot of times. Reporter for bret, its more than a statistic. His father died doing the work he is doing now. On the way down he continued to spray retardant. Your father went down doing this and to a lot of people that would be a warning that this is not a safe thing to do for a living. Yet youre still doing it, why is that . I dont really know why . I guess i love the work. I love this type of flying. I love working in the airplane. If i wouldnt be doing this i would be crop dusting. Is your mom still around . Oh yeah. What does she think about you doing this. If she has any negative feelings, she has not voiced them. She has always been very positive. Reporter this must have been very tough with what happened to your dad. She told me when my dad finally crashed, she waited for that phone call for 21 years and she says i dont have to wait anymore. i suppose its the same. Reporter some of the pilots could fly commercial airliners, make a lot more money and be safer. But to them thats not real flying. This is flying. These old war horses are overbuild by todays standards. They can take a beating and still fly out of trouble. That doesnt mean a pilot can get overconfident. I always want to have a small spark of fear because thats what allows me to be careful enough to survive to come back tomorrow. Reporter we watched andys planes making drops near vacaville. It is an exacting business. Fly too high and the retardant is dissipated before it can do any good. Fly too low and it hits the ground on a blob. Too fast and the chemical drops a pilot can say no to a fire that is too dangerous. And sometimes they do. But its hard when theres troops on the Ground Fighting the fire. Reporter the main thing on your mind is helping the firefighters fighting the fire on the ground. What else is on your mind . Going home at night. Reporter the man dropped to his knees looking up at the plane and cropped himself. He wasnt the first man to look at these air tankers as angels in the sky. Im Bob Mackenzie and theyre segment two. Theyre called Smoke Jumpers. And they do just that. Jump from the plane to a cloud of smoke. There are places where wildfires are actually a good thing. Tonight on a second look, the danger of fighting wildfires. When the fight begins with a plunge into the fire from the skies above, those who do it are a special group known as Smoke Jumpers. In 1997, rob roth brought us their story. Reporter in the shadow of mount shasta in the town of redding. Down, nine. Down 10. Reporter these men all in their 20s are training to join some of the most elite corp. In the country. The Smoke Jumpers. Until this week none had ever jumpedded out of an airplane. All are trained to fight fires. That sound means its time to go. Up. They are flying to a practice field outside redding where for the first time in their training theyll have to avoid dangerous obstacles, those trees that surround the area. From 1,500 feet it will seem like trying to land on a postage stamp. There are a lot of thing that is can go wrong. They can land on the trees and collapse a canopy and have a limb break out and they can fall to the ground and break their back. Reporter the trainees know this, its one of the many risks they take to be a smoke jumper. There are only 400 Smoke Jumpers in the u. S. , 40 here in redding. A decade ago in the shasta trinity. When you read the description you would wonder why anybody would want to do this work. They jump into fires in the middle of nowhere carrying shovels and axes. When they finish the work, they hike so that someone can pick them up. They try to remember what theyve been thought, take a deep breath and go. The first few jumps go smoothly. Half way down i just knew i had to get back up there and do it all over again. Nothing like it. When i popped up, i was facing the plane the way it let me off. It was just incredible to think it was at the same altitude as the airplane and he was flying away and i was just there. Reporter but things things went down for this man. He got caught up in the trees. I still have to get my mind to allow me to be comfortable jumping out the door. Reporter do you think this is not for you or what are you thinking in those terms. I think its still for me. I just need to get over this, this hurdle quickly. Reporter very quickly. The training is only five weeks long by midjune these 12 trainees will need to have all the skills to be Smoke Jumpers. Its not boring. You get to work in the woods. You get to go to great places. You work with great people too. You go out and find wildfires. The jump put as little more thrill puts a little more thrill into it. For me, because ive been fighting fires for a long time. Forest fires, that isnt just as exciting as jumping out of the plane. Reporter but some of that exuberance begins to fade when you mention one word. That word is colorado. Glenwood springs colorado, july 6, 1994. The fire was fierce and the winds erratic. Firefighters tried to run but the fire was faster. 14 died including three Smoke Jumpers. Jeremy harkins also fought that fire. I actually found one of the Smoke Jumpers, i think it was a Smoke Jumpers pack it got burned off. He got blown over the ridge stop because he had skin dropping down flying down the other side of the hill. Reporter parkins keeps the program of the memorial in his bible. He carries the tragedy with him and still he wants to be a smoke jumper. I get to see country that nobody gets to see. And i get to travel for free. Reporter and soon the bell will ring. And chances are they will be busy. In redding, rob roth for segment two. The fires 25 years ago in Yellow Stone National park and how they were actually good for the ecosystem there. A bit later, the danger of carrying wildfires as news. And the risk that you will become news yourself. It was 25 years ago that a massive series of wildfires burned 1. 2 million acres in and around Yellow Stone National park. Park biologists and naturalists were quick to point out that fire is actually a part of the yellow stone ecosystem. While the forest appeared devastated, the flames were doing good for life in the park. August1988. Reporter fire is changing the face of Yellow Stone National park. Areas that were once picture postcards of scenic beauty are now charred moon scapes. For visitors it brings deep emotions. Its devastating. Reporter but for don a Research Biologist its just part of nature. He says even in the midst of devastation theres already life springing from the ashes. The root growns, some rizones in the soil. And seeds that are still alive in that soil and theyll begin growth next spring. Therell be a will the of fertilizer from the ash. Reporter fires are an important part of the ecosystem at yellow stone. Getting rid of old vegetation and making way for new. Fire has largely taken the place of other decomposers in this ecosystem. Unlike other parts of the country we do not have the fungi and bacteria to decompose dead trees and wildlife in this area here. In the long run were going to see greener areas, more nutrition habitats. More valuable habitat for for an array of different species. Its quite evident this thing has gone on for thousands of years. 14 year after the fires, ktvus George Watson returned to yellow stone to see how the park is recovering. Nearly 800,000 acres of forest burned. The largest wildfire fire in history. At its worse, some thought it was the end of yellow stone. Here the whole park was burning up. Nobody would ever come to visit it again and it was only going to be ashes. And it was burning so hot in such large areas it would take hundreds of years for it to grow back again. I had enough experience by that time to know that was not the case. Reporter after the first year, most of the grassland were back. Its the trees that are a different story. Forest are not on a fast track to recovery. This little guy is a perfect example. Hes about 4 feet tall and yet hes 14 years old. The forest is coming back, but its according to natures timetable. Obviously its going to take a long time for this forest to attain mature height it might be in yellow stone 50 to 60 years before its tall. It isnt going to look the same. Reporter sticks fill the ground. There are curious swaths of dead trees surrounded by green ones. What whim of nature kept them standing . Everywhere you look you can see the new vitality of yellow stone. When we come back, kt have said u reporters and photographers find themselves right in the midst of the flames ktvu reporters and photographers find themselves right in the midst of flames. What helped them get out . On a second look tonight were looking at the dangers of wildfires. Sometimes its not just the fire crews who are at risk it can also be the people there covering the fires. John fowler and John Mackenzie found themselves surrounded by flames. Reporter suddenly a blast of wind roars up the canyon to veteran firefighters a warning of impending peril. Theres wind, lets go. Lets get out of here. Were out of here. Jeff were out of here. Jeff. Hey, i have to go. Reporter they have to turn their trucks on this dirt trail for the fire is jumping the lines up ahead. Lets go. Theres the fire right there. Yeah, i know. Camera man John Mackenzie, a park ranger our guide and i are in the line. Its impossible to describe the heat, the smell, the sound of a wildfire. Our only out is through the fire. Fortunately some what subsided, a casualty truck abandoned. Jason cooley tribed what happened. The wildfire built up momentum and sparked up over the line before the fire got there. Thats one of the risks when you build a backfire, set a backfire. And on the other hand, backfiring into those kind of conditions is about the only way to contain the fire. In 1998, it was ktvu reporter Lloyd Lacuesta who was covering a wildfire with photographer dave serrano when suddenly the fire swept right over them. On carol road, firefighters used air drops to keep the flames away from a cattle ranch. The rancher got on his horse and herded his cattle off the burning hillside. About 500 acres got burned there. And i mean thats what i feed my cattle on for the rest of this summer. Reporter no homes were lost in this fire but the flames continued to burn on to areas for what the altima pass is known for. Windmill farms. And when we saw it comes this way i evacuated the men out off of the hills. It doesnt help when you have a fire. It doesnt help but as you can see were Still Producing electricity even as we speak. Reporter suddenly the winds again gusting up to 45 Miles Per Hour in the ridge line. And we suddenly found ourselves in front of the approaching fire line. The firefighters backed down the hill away from fast approaching flames, camera man dave serrano and i tried to do the same but suddenly our way out was blocked. Just back it up. Back it up. Reverse. Reverse. Just let it burn out. Dave and i were caught in what is known as a blow out. The fire was sweeping over us and it was getting difficult to breathe. So the object is i dont know, stay in the car . Yeah, just stay in the car. It seemed like an eternity sitting in that truck. But while it was hot and smoky we didnt get hurt. The firefighters returned to the hill that five minutes earlier was untouched was not blackened. And we had been baptized with fire stories to share with the professionals. Yeah thats what we heard on the radio. It said it blew over. So the best thing to do is stay in the truck when it blows over like that . Oh, yeah. If you have one. And try not to breathe too much of the smoke. Or cover your face as much as you can. Thats it for this weeks second look. Im frank somerville. Well see you again next week. [ male announcer ] when the a. C. Goes out in a heat wave, its nuccio heating and air conditioning that comes to the rescue. At t helped nuccio put a complete mobile solution to work. Mobile routing to send the closest technician and mobile payments to invoice on the spot. Where do you want to take your business . Call us. We can show you how at t solutions can help you do what you do. Even better. Newscaster we have a Tornado Warning that is still very much in effect for all of the Springfield Metro area. Laurie you just feel the suction try to pull the car off the pavement. Melody it was growling. You could hear it growling. Travis i figured we were just going to be sucked up and never would be found again. Mike we got down behind this big oak tree. The trees started snapping all around us. Laurie i dont know if they heard it or seen it, but just the look in their eyes was like, oh, my god jim this is storm stories.