Reality series captures the rough & tumble lives of wildland firefighters

By FireRescue Magazine Staff

Few of us have ever or will ever experience the heart-pounding action of jumping out of an airplane or helicopter into a thickly wooded area, only to land on a fiery hillside, stand up and start digging fireline miles from anything familiar. For those of us who will never know this kind of life, and for those who know it all too well, the Discovery Channel is offering "Into the Firestorm," a compelling reality series that takes viewers along with various smokejumpers, groundpounders and helitack teams as they hike and/or jump right into heat, dirt, smoke, wind and flame — all the ingredients that make wildland firefighting the gritty job that it is.

The first episode entitled " The Burnout" aired Jan. 17; the series will run through Feb. 8, with each new one-hour episode airing every Tuesday night. Check local listings for show times, and don't miss it!