VIDEO: Some of the best firefighters in the country are in the Salmon-Challis National Forest this month to train for one of the most intense jobs in the world.
"There's definitely some anxiety that buzzer goes off," firefighter and heli-rappeler Sarah Jakober said. "Some of the folks that have been doing it for a while are like, here we go."
"You're hanging out at the base. Maybe you just worked out, maybe just at lunch and the buzzer goes off and you do the same thing every time."
"So you go get your gear on, got to helicopter, get loaded up."
In the coming weeks, 171 veteran rappelers and 80 rookies from across the country will learn the ropes so one day they can drop in and assist on blazes all over the nation.
Students at Salmon Air Base work in helicopter simulations, classroom mockups and high tower rappelling before they try out the real thing.