Forest Service busy at Bass Creek
Rappel teams push through changeable spring weather to get their training done
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Rappel teams push through changeable spring weather to get their training done
US Forest Service rappel teams will be training in the Bitterroot for the second year in a row as they gear up for the critical task of attacking wildfires from the air.
Helicopters and firefighters in the skies above the Bitterroot.
US Forest Service rappel teams will be training in the Bitterroot for the second year in a row as they gear up for the critical task of attacking wildfires from the air.
PERRY BACKUS Hanging upside down 300 feet above the ground from the skids of a helicopter isnât for the light-hearted. âThatâs a lot of metal hanging in the air right over you,â said 27-year-old Karl Maes. âYou get a little shot of adrenaline every time. It may not look like it from the ground, but the helicopter is teetering about while youâre hanging there.â "It's exhilarating," he said. Maes was one of a three-member crew who had just rappelled down past towering ponderosa pines to a small patch of bare ground along the edge of one of the Ruff...