BLM Alaska Fire Service Smokejumper training jumps start March 25

By BLM Alaska Fire Service on March 20, 2024

Pilots should avoid flying over areas during scheduled jumps and paracargo drops in Interior Alaska

A person holds the toggles while descending to the ground underneath a red, white and blue parachute. — A BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumper during a training jump. BLM AFS file photo. Find more photos of smokejumpers on the BLM AFS Flickr site.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The skies above Fairbanks and North Pole will come alive with the colorful parachutes of the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) Smokejumpers starting March 25. As BLM AFS prepares for the inevitable approach of fire season, these elite firefighters are gearing up with their parachute training jumps. Throughout April and May, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., smokejumpers will engage in vital refresher exercises, honing their skills for the challenges that await amidst Alaska’s rugged terrain.

The Smokejumpers will parachute in these primary areas:

In and around the Birch Hill area on Fort Wainwright
Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project
2.8 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road
Nordale Road just north of Chena River Bridge

Weather permitting, the refresher jumps for returning Smokejumpers will occur once or twice per day between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on certain weekdays between March 25-April 26.

The tempo will increase in May with the addition of rookie jumps and parachuted cargo drops, known as paracargo. The rookie training jumps start on May 10 and, excluding weekends, will occur up to two times a day between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. through May 24. The paracargo training in Salcha includes as many as five flights each day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 20-24.

Changes may occur due to weather and other limiting factors. Smokejumpers will continue to use these jump spots and the paracargo drop zone for ongoing proficiency training through mid-September. Find more information about Alaska Smokejumpers online.

Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) will be filed for training jumps and paracargo drops taking place outside of Fort Wainwright’s Ladd Air Field controlled airspace.

AFS_Jumpspots_2024 Download

-BLM-

Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, Ak 99703

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Learn more at www.blm.gov/AlaskaFireService, and on Facebook and X.

Watch this video of annual refresher training in 2021.

The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache with a $18.1 million inventory. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska.