Firefighter climbs to reach a paratrooper stuck 80 feet up a tree at JBLM near the town of Rainier. / Courtesy photo by Robert Scott
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Three members of the Rochester area fire department trained in special rescues responded about 3 p.m. yesterday after winds carried three paratroopers into the trees near the town of Rainier.
Nobody was injured but one of the paratroopers, and his parachute, was tangled up 80 feet off the ground, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott.
The two-hour rescue operation included 30 members of Thurston County’s special operations rescue team, comprised of members from six area fire departments, according to Scott. Among them are some skilled at climbing trees and setting up a lowering system to retrieve such subjects.
It happened at the south end of Joint Base Lewis-McChord off Rainier Acres Road, Scott said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter