“Today’s where they knock the rust off everything,” said Jim Wimer, fire prevention specialist for the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. “This is the practice jumps for our returning smokejumpers. It’s a refresher for them to basically get ready for the season.”
A common sight in the skies around the region this same time every late spring is a Twin Otter aircraft followed in two- to four-person intervals of jumpers floating and circling down in the square ram-air parachutes. Last Wednesday, April 24, an eight-person load conducted a training jump southeast of Grangeville at a field near the Mt. Idaho transfer station. According to smokejumper base manager Nick Stanzak, last week’s group was made up of returnees with between two to 20 years of experience, conducting an annual refresher on techniques and skill-sets.