Smokejumping: Visual Documentary by Mike McMillan


Fighting and photographing wildfires since 1988, Mike McMillan is an Alaska Smokejumper and a colleague of Murry Taylor. He has generously agreed to display a sample of his photography on these pages. His collection of photographs spans 11 fire seasons in the western U.S. and Alaska.

"I've had the good fortune of working with some of the best in the wildfire business from the start: Four seasons with a very capable type II crew in San Luis Obispo, three seasons with the Los Padres Hot Shots headed by Mark Linane and company, and now four seasons with the AK jumpers."

"Surrounded by folks like that, wildland firefighting has become a career that's grown on me," said McMillan.

Smokejumpers drop into some of the most remote places in the United States to battle the annual summer onslaught of forest fires.

Photographs of these fires are very difficult to obtain. McMillan's work is an amazing visual record. You can see more if you visit his Web site, Spotfire Images.

You can also find more photographic representations of smokejumping at www.smokejumpers.com, the home of the National Smokejumper Association. The National Smokejumper Association is a volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation of smokejumper history and to providing a forum for those interested in smokejumping.Smokejumper merchandise such as clothing and artwork is available through their secure online store.

Murry A. Taylor has been a smokejumper since 1965. He divides his time between Alaska and northern California. Jumping Fire is his first book. Taylor's e-mail address is: murrytay@sisqtel.net• All photographs by Mike McMillan/Spotfire Images • Site by Visual Contact