Craig Daily Press

Adam Sinner looks forward to nights he can spend sleeping in a bed.

As the senior firefighter with an Oregon-based heli-rappel crew, Sinner is as likely to spend the night on the fire line as in a town.

For the past 14 days, the Sled Springs Rappel Crew, from Enterprise, Ore., has been fighting six fires around Northwest Colorado and western Utah. Some nights, they get to sleep in a bed in Craig.

Sometimes, though, they stay on location.

"It's been a pretty busy season," Sinner said. "Conditions are really severe right now, with the drought and high winds around here."

The 11-person crew arrived in Craig on Wednesday after fighting the 1,100-acre Pothole Fire, burning near Vernal, Utah. They get assignments daily from the U.S. Forest Service.

Two members of the crew spent Wednesday night at one of the two fires they are currently fighting near Vernal, while the others enjoyed a sleep at the Holiday Inn of Craig.

Heli-rappel crews such as the Sled Springs group rappel from the helicopter down to land that is not accessible on the ground, or would take too long to reach.

A crew brings with them cargo boxes containing enough provisions to sustain them for at least 36 hours.

After their gear is lowered, firefighters cut breaks in the terrain to control the fires movement.

The helicopter then begins water drops on the fire from a bucket suspended under the aircraft.

Heli-rappel firefighters also use trucks to move them to their next assignment.

Before they get to fight fires, crew members go through five weeks of firefighter training, including one week of intensive rappel training at the Region Six Rappelling Academy in John Day, Ore.

Firefighters are required to have two seasons of wildland fire experience before being considered for training with a rappel crew.

The Sled Springs crew fights fires mostly throughout the western United States during the months they are together, May through October.

A couple members of the crew are year-round employees of the Forest Service. The others go to school or pursue recreation interests during the winter months.

When the crew is deployed into a fire zone, they rappel from the helicopter to the ground with their cargo boxes containing enough provisions to sustain them for at least 36 hours.

Their rotation schedule currently has the firefighters spending 14 days on the fire, followed by two days off to rest.

Thursday is their 14th day fighting fires.

"We're looking forward to the rest," Sinner said. "We're going home now for two days before our next assignment."