The Salmon Heli-Rappellers are made up of  41 highly trained wildland firefighters prepared to operate in all the roles of helibase operations and as aerially delivered firefighters. The crew contracts four helicopters; one type III Long Ranger and two type II Bell Super 205s, and one S-64e Sky Crane. We encounter the full spectrum of wildland fires; from single tree two-person fires to large scale project fires. We are relied upon to fill a variety of suppression and support roles which include rappelling for fire suppression, helispot construction, personnel and gear transport, helibase duties, and helping with management projects.  

The Salmon Heli-Rappellers stay very busy with fire suppression from early June until late September. The Salmon-Challis National Forest hosts one of the largest fire occurrences in Region 4 due to the steep timber covered mountains of the Salmon and Middle Fork River breaks. Off-Forest assignments are common with modules of rappellers leaving for 14 day assignments on the National type II helicopter. During early spring and late fall the crew can be found implementing prescribed fires and will be working on forest projects. Some of these include wilderness trail construction, tree thinning, and fencing.