ANGELES HELITACK
50 YEARS OF TRADITION 1957-2007

Home Page

OUR VISSION: As a flight crew, we are expected to perform efficiently and safely. To do this we must be well organized, highly trained, and physically fit.  As a unit we represent Angeles Helitack Crew, Angeles National Forest, and the Agency. The image we want to present is one of pride, competence, efficiency, and professionalism.


This is NOT an official government web site, and the funding is provided by private donations.

Contacts us

Crew531@angeleshelitack.com

 

 

 

 

   

                 Helitack Program

The Angeles Helitack program was started in 1957 and is currently running strong in the Angeles Nation Forest. As the nations first ever Helitack we pride ourselves on professionalism, tradition, pride, integrity, diversity, safety and success. Our training is extensive and thorough in the classroom and out on the field. The nature of this job keeps crewmembers in a constant state of learning and training. The crew consists of 14 individuals a superintendent, 1 captains, 2 squad bosses, 4 lead firefighters, 5 seasonal firefighters and  apprentices. As a multifunctional helicopter crew with tasks ranging from everyday initial attack fire responses, fire rappelling, logistical fire support, large campaign fire support in California and across the United States.

            As one of the firefighting helicopters serving the Angeles National Forest and the nation we respond to every fire on the forest and in surrounding areas. Responding in a helicopter provides an aerial view of the fire allowing the crew to form better fire suppression tactics to insure safety and success. At times we respond to multiple fires in a day keeping the crew in a constant state of readiness. Arriving on a fire we provide a variety of suppression tactics such as line construction, water points, and coordinating water drops. As a seven person initial attack crew our physical training is arduous and held to higher standards.

            Our fire rappel program which started in 2000 has given our crew the ability to suppress fires and construct helispots in remote and rugged terrain. The rappel procedure consists of the helicopter hovering over a spot, the helitack crewmember will then move to the skid of the helicopter and descend down a rope from heights as high as 250 feet. Our rappel training program consists of classroom training, ground school, mock rappel set-ups, and finally live rappels to complete the training and become a certified rappeller. As a rappel ship we can do a variety of fires ranging from initial attack, lightning fires and large campaign fires.

            Logistical fire support is one of our more common services in which our abilities as a multifunctional unit are put to use by having personnel doing a variety of jobs. One important job is Helibase radio communications in which personnel coordinate and keep constant contact with all aircraft on the fire. As helitack personnel we are responsible for the safe and successful transport of cargo and personnel to the fire line in order to support fire suppression efforts.

             As a national resource we have the capabilities of traveling all around the United States. We are logistically supported to be on the road for six months. The jobs that we are able to perform do not change when called out of state.             

The experiences and work ethics that are learned on helitack can be used as a stepping stone. Every fire season it is our goal to ensure safety and a better understanding of the aviation program. We hope this gives you an overview of the many career opportunities available with the Angeles Helitack and within the U.S. Forest Service.

Angeles Helitack News
and Information

Winter is here and we are trying to get prepare for the up coming season. Our crew will be ready. Some of the projects we are working on are; the forest hazard map, Helispots guide and recruitment. We are also anticipating a possible move, our station might not be ready when fire season comes. If our station is not ready we will be relocated to Lancaster. This move has been in the works for about three years but we were going to build a new facility before moving there. The Station fire has changed all that and more. We are still dealing with the aftermath of the station fire. The rain is coming down and this means the area of the Station fire is in great danger of mud slides.


The Angeles National Forest has activated the storm plan due to the after math of the Station fire so far the rain has not being too bad. Although, we have had a few storms that have caused some structure damage. When the Forest activates the plan it means we can’t go into the burn areas. We report to other work areas. We are glad to see the rain is here, there are lots of people affected but our forest and our state could use the rain.

 If the proposed move to Lancaster does happen we will be losing some of the folks we have currently. We lost one of our GS-6 and we are hopping to fill this position in the upcoming fire hire in April. Most of our folks reside in the L.A. Basin so to drive all the way to Lancaster will put a burden on their life. We are hoping to fill any vacancies with some of our past crew members that live locally. This year will bring a lot of changes and challenges. We will have to regroup and set new procurers on our operations. This will be a new location and environment. We will be at an airport and not on a forest property all by ourselves. At this time we want to wait and see what the outcome is and go from there. In the mean time we will be ready for what ever comes our way.Other issues that are coming up in our region is the GS-7 position. We have been trying to upgrade the GS 6 to GS-7 for about a year. Still no word on when this will get approved. I do know that we are going to send a manager to Albuquerque NM to try and get this approval. We will have to wait and see what comes out of this meeting.

 

Rappelling is still a hot item that is still being work on. There are many people trying to get this resolved and they are meeting regularly to insure things get done. But not much is being said as of right now. I know there are lots of rumors but lets wait and give the guys working on these issues a chance. Our Helicopter Contract is up. What does this mean? It means all the Vendors will have to submit a bid if they want to do business with us. This happens about every three years. This gives every one a fair chance to do business with the Government. This is our most up-to-date information.

Thanks for checking in. Crew 531



  • For employment with the Angeles Helitack please make sure you fill out and application with Avue website there is a link below. Please check the Miscellaneous Items page for more information on job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

 

 

Web Hosting Companies