Texas A&M Forest Service event includes helicopter water drop and prescribed fire demonstration
Link to story received from media relations for Texas A&M AgriLife – Email: news@ag.tamu.edu
Author of the article below is Kay Ledbetter
Story comes from AgriLife Today – Texas A&M AgriLife’s Digital Magazine and Newsroom
Texas A&M Forest Service hosted the sixth annual Sisters in Fire event Sept. 26 in Manor, allowing students to experience wildland firefighting and hands-on natural resource career training.
Twenty-eight participants, eighth grade through seniors from 13 counties, attended the event. Sisters in Fire introduces students to wildland firefighting and natural resources careers through hands-on activities.
“It is an amazing experience being able to see the participants get more confident and see in their faces the satisfaction of completing something new,” said Abbie Tijerina, Sisters in Fire incident commander and wildland urban interface coordinator for Texas A&M Forest Service. “The purpose of Sisters in Fire is to show participants that they can do anything they put their minds to and that they belong in these careers.”
Twenty-eight participants, eighth grade through seniors from 13 counties, attended the Sisters in Fire workshop that introduced them to wildland firefighting and natural resources careers. (Texas A&M Forest Service)
Learning Stations Explain Skills and Equipment
Participants were split into squads, or teams, for the day and rotated through four stations. Each station introduced skills and equipment used in wildland firefighting, including how to suppress wildfires with engines and bulldozers and how to use chainsaws and hand tools safely. They also learned leadership, communication and teamwork skills that are critical for wildland firefighting crews.
The role of aviation in wildfire response was also explained through a presentation on aircraft capabilities and careers in wildland fire aviation. A Type 1 Black Hawk helicopter under contract with Texas A&M Forest Service, capable of carrying up to 1,000 gallons of water, conducted a water drop demonstration for participants.
“The helicopter dropping water was awesome,” said one Sisters in Fire participant. “I didn’t realize how many jobs there were in wildfire.”
Participants put everything they learned to the test during the final event of the day – a prescribed fire demonstration. While the instructors burned a small area of grass, the young women answered questions and applied what they learned to a real-world scenario.
Sisters in Fire provides participants with an opportunity to explore wildland firefighting and natural resource management careers and learn from professionals representing agencies and organizations across the state.
The 2026 Sisters in Fire event was hosted in cooperation with Travis County Parks, the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, Kansas Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Fire departments participating through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System included Alice, Amarillo, Austin and Conroe fire departments.