A Blistering Inferno. A Whirling Tornado. A Shocking Crash

Aerial firefighters have always been a critical line of defense against raging wildfires. But increasingly extreme blazes and a horrific accident have many wondering how we'll adapt to fires of the future.

- By Jessica Fu

BRAD BLOIS CAN VIVIDLY RECALL THE FIRST time he fought a wildfire from the air. He remembers the thick stench of smoke, the sound of chatter crackling through his radio, the physical vibrations of the other tankers nearby-a total sensory overload. "It was like drinking from a firehose," he says.

But he knew he'd made the right decision.

It was the spring of 2014, and a fire-likely ignited by sparks flung from railroad tracks-was tearing through a forest in Alberta, Canada. Blois had never worked as an aerial firefighter before.

Typically, on top of their training, new hires will fly as a copilot for their first few flights. Because Blois had significant flight experience, he started off as a captain immediately.

Blois, 49, began flying professionally in 1999. He spent the early years of his career picking up whatever seasonal flying opportunities came his way. First, he worked as a minnow trapper, which entailed flying a little Piper PA-8 Super Cub float plane-a "flying aquarium"-to small lakes dotted across northern Ontario, collecting bait fish that had been caught in traps overnight. He then became a pilot for commercial seaplane operators that primarily served sport-fishing lodges and Indigenous communities in the remote north. Later, he booked gigs flying to and from the Arctic and the Antarctic.

He first took up aerial firefighting a decade ago on the suggestion of his best friend, a fellow pilot named William Hilts. "It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on," Hilts had told him.

Pilot Brad Blois first began training as aerial firefighter in 2014.