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Foothills Firefighters Consulted On Disney's 'Planes' Sequel

GRASS VALLEY (CBS13) — Disney's latest movie has a special connection to firefighters in the foothiils.

You won't see any local actors in "Planes: Fire and Rescue," but firefighters played a key, behind-the-scenes role making sure Disney got things right.

The sequel is about Dusty, a crop-dusting plane whose racing career is over, but a future in firefighting is just beginning.

Disney consulted with Northern and Southern California firefighters from Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service over the course of four years. Some of that consulting took place in Grass Valley.

"They spent some time here at the air attack base and spent some time in Redding with the smokejumpers," said Staci Dickson with the forest service.

On Saturday, parents and children can tour the Grass Valley Air Attack Base where Disney creators learned the ins and outs of aerial firefighting.

"We actually did demonstrations for them through our training," said Battalion Chief Jake Sjolund. "They came out, witnessed the training. The forest service, they had a speaker go down and talk to them about the language we use in the fire environment."

Fire officials say the movie couldn't come at a better time, with California in a drought and fire awareness a top priority.

But of course, it keeps the kids entertained, too.

"I loved the movie," Sjolund said. "My kids loved the movie, and that was I think the true test for Disney. My kids loved it and they talked about it for days."

The tour of the base is from 10 a.m. to noon. For more info, check here.

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