Between Heaven and Earth. Gene Jessup

At the Intercity Airport midway between Winthrop and Twisp in Northeastern Washington, the summer sun was beating down on the buildings and aircraft of the Okanogan Smokejumpers, the United States Forestry Departments only aerial firefighting unit based in the state.

As the temperature crept past the 100 mark, angry clouds over the forest clad mountains all around hinted at a possible electrical storm which could mean scores of forest fires started by lightning strikes. The forests of the State were a veritable powder-keg waiting only for the tiny key that would turn the ignition switch.

But the Smokejumpers were ready. In his tiny administration building office Francis Lufkin foreman of the unit and himself a veteran jumper was in constant communication with his fire patrol planes and lookout towers fanned out in all directions.

In the parachute loft nearby the Smokejumpers were lounging nonchalantly about, while the propellers of a twin-engined Beech jump plane turned over idly as the craft squatted on the concrete apron close by.

The Smokejumper unit quite appropriately might be compared to The Strategic Bomber Command of the United States Air Force—They can get there “fusrtest with the mostest.”

A half-dozen Smokejumpers can parachute into almost inaccessible terrain and extinguish a newly-started blaze that would require days for a ground unit to reach much less control, after the fire had reached major proportions.

The aerial firefighters must be airborne within 7 minutes or sooner after receiving a radio or telephone call for help, Lufkin said. He says his jumpers range in age from 18 to 27. They are the “cream of the crop” being selected from hundreds of applicants mostly college students or college graduates.

Located approximately 120 airline miles from Seattle, the firefighting base consists of sleeping barracks, parachute loft, bath house, mess hall, administration building and training tower where the “rookies” are taught the rudiments of parachuting.

This year the payroll lists 42 including pilot, observers, cooks, squad leaders, and 32 Jumpers. The unit has two U>S> Forest Service jumper planes, a Cessna 180 and three contract planes for observation and cargo-dropping purposes.

So far this summer—the worst for fires in many years—the jumpers have parachuted on more than 70 fires. These forest fires which had a damage potential of hundreds of millions of dollars if not extinguished quickly occurred in various areas from Mount Baker on the west to the Kettle River on the east, and the Canadian border to northern Oregon.

An area embracing approximately 90,000 square miles Lufkin said. On the average the parachuters jump from altitudes of 1500 to 2000 feet with a 100 foot “let down” rope in case they land in the tops of trees; signal streamers, hard hat and equipment sack. Firefighting tools, sleeping bags, flashlights, walkie-talkie radio, rations and water are dropped by light cargo planes as soon as the jumpers reach the ground.

Lufkin says that in the majority of cases the jumpers are retrieved with helicopters after the fire have been extinguished but that in some instances where the terrain is even inaccessible to a copter the firefighters are forced to walk out as required for the firefighters to emerge from the wild mountainous fastness. However, he added, at all times during the slow and laborious progress toward “civilization” planes and helicopters are constantly keeping the firefighters on the ground under close observation.

The Okanogan Smokejumpers are a group of typical American young men who are serving their country no less than the paratroopers of the Armed Forces. The lads are modest, courteous, courageous, and wholly dedicated.

This article is a copy of a story, which appeared in a newspaper in 1958.

Introduction

The following story is actually a combined and blended collection of short stories that I have written through the years. These stories begin as a young man of seventeen and continue through the years to my present age of eighty-two.

The book begins with my employment by the United States Forest Service in 1955 and continues as I become a Smokejumper. I have also included further adventures as I journey through life to the present day. I have no doubt that my days as a Smokejumper played a significant part in shaping the man I have become.

I was blessed with a hardworking loving mother and a family that helped me develop a strong work ethic. I was also fortunate to become a good athlete. Football was my chosen sport. I was all conference in high school and selected as an all-American junior college football player in 1956.

There are some places in my stories such as the Great Toketie Fire and Rescue tale where I engage in some literary license with a slight departure from factual reality, but hopefully, the humor will paint an enjoyable picture for you.

Gene Jessup

Chapter One

Liberty Fire Suppression Crew

Jumping the Noorduyn

I graduated from Wenatchee High School in north central Washington State in the spring of 1955. I was hoping to get a summer job with the US Forest Service before attending college in the fall at Wenatchee Junior College and playing football for their new coach Don Coryell.

My stepfather worked for Whiteman Fuel in Wenatchee owned by Jack Whiteman and his father. My stepdad had mentioned to Jack that I wanted a Forest Service summer job, and Jack had said he had a friend who worked at the USFS Wenatchee office, and he would give him a call. Jack later gave my stepdad a name that I was to contact at the USFS local office. A couple of days later, I met with the gentleman in his office. He introduced himself and said, “Hello, Gene. Jack has told me about you, and you look like the kind of young fellow that would do well in the Forest Service.” I replied that I would really appreciate the opportunity.

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Between Heaven and Earth. Gene Jessup

Between Heaven and Earth

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