Every year, wildfires destroy millions of hectares of forest land. Homes are damaged, and thousands of people die. Smokejumpers help to stop this.
Smokejumpers are a special type of firefighter. They jump from planes or are lowered by helicopters into areas that are 1 to reach by car or on foot, such as the middle of a mountain forest. They race to put out fires as fast as they can.
At a fire site, smokejumpers first examine the land and decide 2 to fight the fire. Their main goal is to stop a fire from spreading or to slow its progress 3 ground—based firefighters arrive. Using basic equipment such as shovels (铲子) and axes(斧头), smokejumpers clear land of burnable material, like dry grass and dead trees. They carry water with them, too, but only a limited amount.
Most smokejumpers are men. The most important factors are your height and 4 .Smokejumpers employed in the United States must be between 54 and 91 kilograms so they don't get blown away by the strong winds or get 5 when they land.
The work is dangerous, and the hours are long. But for these firefighters, smoke jumping isn't just a job. They6 being able to jump out of planes, fight fires, and live in the forest. As 28-year-old Russian smokejumper Alexi says, "This is the best job for tough guys. "
