Protecting our community as a Firefighting Pilot
Abbie Crews is one of the few female firefighting air tanker pilots. Before she was hired to pilot CAL FIRE’s S-2Ts out of Grass Valley, California she graduated from the Air Force Academy and flew MC12s and C-17s.
Abbie Crews grew up in Girdwood Alaska and Boulder Colorado. She graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a BS in Systems Engineering and from the University of Oklahoma with an MA in Administrative Leadership.
After receiving her Commission as an officer in the Air Force, and completing pilot training, she flew in the Air Force for 8 additional years. During this time, she was deployed and flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. After Separating from the Air Force in 2015 she flew in Afghanistan on intelligence missions as a contract pilot. Currently she is an air tanker pilot for CalFire, flying the Grumman S2 out of Grass Valley Air Attack Base.
Abbie lives in Nevada City with her Husband Orion, 18-month-old daughter Gunnison and dog Tucker. They enjoy mountain biking, skiing, and kite boarding and are core members of our local trail building organization - Bicyclists of Nevada County.