Wildland firefighters get rappel training in Grant County

Adam Kahler, a national rappel specialist who started as a rappeler in Grant County in the early 2000s, said the training was one of two annual recertification events the U.S. Forest Service hosts each year. There’s also a rookie training in Salmon, Idaho.

Rappel-trained firefighters are an elite group. According to Kahler, the Forest Service has just 300 rappelers nationwide.

Last week’s training was for veteran rappelers. Some, Kahler said, were coming back for their 15th year, while others were coming back for their second or third season.

The training session, he said, is a chance not only to come back and conduct crew training, but it also provides an opportunity for multiple crews — rappelers, helicopter spotters, and pilots — to work together again.

Kahler said a rappel crew’s specialty is roping into small, remote, quick-response fires.

All of the training is standardized. So, when a crew is called out, depending on the location, they can be on a fire in as little as an hour. That’s why the training is so important between the multiple crews, Kahler said.

“(Rappelling) is just a very quick, efficient way to get people on the ground where they need to be,” he said.

Kahler said the rappel crews do not bring on new firefighters. Instead, they look for experienced firefighters who bring a solid skill set with them.

When the Forest Service dispatches a crew to a remote area, they have limited supervision.

Typically, he said, each crew is between two and four people, and they go out in the woods and make decisions on their own.

“We’re looking for very experienced, very fit people,” Kahler said.