MOAB, UTAH

MOAB FIRE DISTRICT

Moab BLM's fire district, located in southeast Utah, is comprised of 6.1 million acres of rugged terrain with deep canyon country, steep cliffs, and rivers as well as high elevations and varying fuels.  A large chunk of this area is only accessible by air or on foot.  In addition to BLM administered land, Moab Helitack responds to incident requests on National Forest, National Park Service, and Utah State Land which adds more than two million more acres of difficult terrain to our Initial Attack Response area. 

MOAB HELITACK

The Helitack program in Moab is young, having only been in operation since 2001.  It has proven a highly valued fire management tool in the remote country of southeastern Utah. Fire Reconnaissance, Initial Attack, Large Fire Support, and a variety of interesting helicopter air operations projects round out the typical fire season. Moab Helitack makes direct attack or assists on an average of 70 fires per season, flying over 200 hours each year.  We also assist in resource projects with the various agencies. 

BEING A MOAB HELITACK CREWMEMBER

Working on a helitack crew is a rewarding and challenging experience.  Helitack is a demanding job, requiring crewmembers to be highly motivated, physically fit, quality firefighters, with a minimum of one season fire experience.  Crewmembers need to be able to work in a dynamic and many times stressful environment.  Helitack crewmembers must be able to function well as both a team member and as an individual, working in conjunction with other fire resources on the district.

PHYSICAL FITNESS STANDARDS

Individuals considering working on a Helitack crew need to be able to complete the pack test at the arduous level, which is 45 pound pack, 3 miles flat terrain, in 45 minutes.  Besides the pack test, there are several other fitness requirements:

· 1.5 mile run in 11:40 minutes

· 5 pull-ups

· 30 sit-ups in one minute

· 20 push-ups in one minute

Once the season has started, Helitack has a fairly rigorous physical training (PT) schedule.  Moab Helitack has seven day coverage and we PT each day, either hiking or running on specified days, completing from 2-5 miles, or lifting and usually as a group.  On Sundays, we usually do an all crew PT/training.  PT time is an hour long each day and we make the most of it!

LOCATION/HOUSING/RECREATION

The Moab Valley in southeast Utah is a mecca for tourism worldwide.  Moab is located 5 miles south of Arches National Park and about 80 miles from Canyonlands National Park and within traveling distance to other popular recreation spots such as: Lake Powell, Colorado National Monument, Dead Horse Point State Park, etc.

Hiking, biking, climbing, fishing, river rafting, and 4-wheeling are all activities accessible minutes from town.

Crew housing is available.

The Moab Helibase is currently located 10 miles south of Moab near Ken's Lake.  The Helitack crew is based at the Helibase for the duration of the helicopter contract.  The facility is a large airplane hanger with a bathroom/shower area, meeting area and landing pad.

CONTACTS

Mike Worthington, Helicopter Manager 435-259-2100

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Last modified: 7/31/2007

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