Firefighting train used on Kearney River Fire

Firefighting Train Kearney
A firefighting train working on the Kearney River Fire. Screen grab from AZcentral video.

A firefighting train was used on the Kearny River Fire near Kearny, Arizona this week. Below is an excerpt from an article at AZcentral, which also has a video of the train in action.

…Arizona State Forestry spokesman Mike Reichling said this was the first time he had seen a train used at the scene of a wildfire. Two Copper Basin Railway cars equipped with water cannons have been blasting hot spots along the Gila River bed near Kearny, about 85 miles southeast of Phoenix. While helicopters and dozers have been tackling the fire, the train has played a key role.

“We work very closely with the firefighters,” Railway President Jake Jacobson said. “We can help to provide them water in remote places.”

The water tank cars, which are only operated by Copper Basin employees, have been focusing on dousing hot spots while they ride the tracks. Each car can hold 15,000 gallons of water and disperse it as far as 250 feet, Jacobson said. The rail tank cars were transformed as water tank cars in the mid-1990s. Based in Hayden, the Arizona short-line railroad stretches 54 miles from Magma to Winkelman.

We have written about firefighting trains twice before, using the tag Water Train.

More information about the Kearny River Fire (which has not spread much in the last day or two). The incident management team on June 19 called it 1,428 acres and 40 percent contained.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jason.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

3 thoughts on “Firefighting train used on Kearney River Fire”

  1. Pretty cool. I know the Southern Pacific Rail Road before the merger had something similar.

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