Remember Robert Stack from The Untouchables, Airplane, Unsolved Mysteries, and, uh, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America? And do you remember when CALFIRE used to be called California Department of Forestry, or CDF? CALFIRETV recently posted a video of a public service announcement that Mr. Stack made in 1982 about turning in arsonists.
The Jasper fire, about 2 hours after it started on August 25, 2000. Photo by Bill Gabbert
Joe Lowe, the Director (or Fire Chief) of the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression retired on Monday. Joe was the first and so far the only Director of the agency that was formed in 2001. Before accepting that position, he worked in wildland fire suppression in southern California.
During most of the decade of the 1990s, there were few large fires in South Dakota. That began changing in August of 2000 when the Flagpole and Jasper fires burned 7,000 and 83,000 acres respectively in the Black Hills. Then-Governor Bill Janklow, who died of brain cancer on January 12, became extremely interested in wildfire suppression at that time.
I was the Incident Commander on the Flagpole fire for the first two days and received two late night phone calls from the Governor telling me he was sending resources to the fire, including 17 dozers and dozens of fire engines from across the state that later just showed up on the fireline. This was outside of the ordering system and the Incident Command System, and created havoc and safety issues on the fire. The Governor also directed that National Guard dozers take independent action on the Jasper fire, and threatened to start backfires without coordinating with the Type 1 Incident Management Team running the fire. The Incident Commander placed a resource order for U.S. Marshals who stood by at the Incident Command Post ready to put a halt to any actions that put firefighters in danger.
The next year, the Governor created the Division of Wildland Fire Suppression and put Joe in charge. Joe’s experience, management skills, and the fact that the Governor trusted him established a buffer between the Governor and the other wildfire organizations in the state — and we heard a collective sigh of relief. Joe brought additional professionalism and the concept of initially attacking fires with “overwhelming force” to the Division.
During his 10 years as the state Fire Chief, Joe, working with his interagency partners, helped establish the Northern Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center, the Great Plains Interstate Compact, the State Handcrew Program, the State Aerial Firefighting Program, and the Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team C.
Steve Hasenohrl, Assistant Chief for Administration, is the Acting Director until Joe’s replacement is named.
I tried to get in touch with Joe today, calling his gallery, Reflections of South Dakota, but he was out doing a television interview and setting up the gallery’s booth at the Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo which begins January 27. Joe has been an avid photographer for years, and opened the gallery with his wife Wendy in May of 2007.
His plans are to remain in the Rapid City area and to be available for assignments on large fires.
Joe Lowe at the opening of his Gallery in Rapid City, May 4, 2007. Photo by Bill Gabbert
Neptune Aviation and Minden Air Corp have been asked by the U.S. Forest Service to have their air tankers available three to four weeks earlier than last year. We first reported on this here and here.
Below is an excerpt from a news release about how it affects Neptune.
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Neptune Aviation Accelerates Air Tanker Readiness For Predicted Early 2012 Wildland Fire Season
Neptune Aviation, the largest US private operator of fixed wing aerial tankers, is gearing up for the 2012 fire season through an accelerated maintenance and training program, given predictions of earlier than normal wildland fire out-breaks–particularly in portions of the US Southwest.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 26, 2012
“The US Forest Service approached us last fall, and asked that we have our aircraft available early,” said Dan Snyder, President of the Missoula-based company. “To meet our customer’s requirement, we commenced our fleet maintenance about a month early in preparation for the fire season. To do that, we leased additional hangar space at Missoula International Airport, and increased our contract maintenance staff to 30–up from the 10-15 we have employed in prior years. The contract staff supplements the 70 mechanics we employ full-time.”
Snyder noted that in a typical year, the contract maintenance staff, which includes airframe mechanics, electricians and sheet metal technicians, is on site from November through March, with the total cadre in place by January. “But, this year, we ramped up to a full staff of 30 in October, and we expect that they will be here through April, so we’re taking on more people for a longer time period,” he said.
The contract maintenance staff will focus exclusively on the company’s nine active P2V Neptune tankers. As Snyder explained, Neptune Aviation is also deploying a single BAE 146 regional jet, modified for aerial tanker duty. The aircraft has operated since October 2011, under Interagency Airtanker Board interim approval. Given the capacity constraints generated by the accelerated preparation schedule, maintenance on the BAE 146 has being outsourced to Tronos, the company which partnered with Neptune on the tanker modification.
Pilot recurrent training has also been moved up by a month, starting January 1st. Neptune currently has 25 pilots, of which five are qualified on the BAE 146.
The earlier resumption of maintenance activity, and pilot training, reported Snyder, will enable Neptune Aviation to make the first aircraft mission-ready by February 26, with the last ones available no later than May 25.
“In 2011, availability of the first aircraft, by contract with the Forest Service, was March 18, with the last one ready for dispatch by June 25,” he pointed out, adding that the longer availability time-frame will mean more time in the field for pilots, mechanics, and support vehicle drivers. Because of this, the company plans to hire additional staff in order to assure those on the line their regular periods of time off.
“Neptune Aviation was well-prepared to meet the Forest Service’s request for early aircraft availability because of changes made in our operations over the past three years,” Snyder said. “We were positioned to respond to our customers’ requests in a timely fashion, and we are on track to do that.”
Thanks go out to Dick
The new Northern Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center. Photo by Bill Gabbert
The Northern Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Dispatch Center was evicted from their facility at the Rapid City Regional Airport. On January 9 they became operational in a brand new building located south of Rapid City adjacent to the new Black Hills National Forest Mystic Ranger District office at 8123 South Highway 16, Rapid City, SD 57702.
During most of the decade of the 1990s, there were few large fires in the Northern Great Plains area, which includes western South Dakota, northeast Wyoming, and northwest Nebraska. Then there were several large fires in 2000 and 2001 which demonstrated the need for a coordinated dispatch center in an area where previously each land management agency handled their own dispatching. Then-Governor Bill Jankow, who died January 12 of brain cancer, was instrumental in finding the location and funding for what became the Northern Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center (NGPIDC). Most of the $1.8 million in funds to retrofit the old unused passenger terminal at the airport came from the State of South Dakota. The first 3-year lease for the building was signed in 2001 and after gutting the interior, building new walls and offices, and installing communications systems and a backup generator, it was put into service in 2003.
The FAA, which has a great deal of control over how land and facilities are used at airports, began complaining soon after the NGPIDC moved in, saying they were not aware until then that there was a new tenant at the airport. The lease was extended for another 3 years in 2004, but in 2006 the FAA sent an eviction letter claiming that the space was needed for hangars and other aeronautical uses. The airport and the NGPIDC argued the case that the dispatch center needed to remain, but the writing was on the wall and fire managers and government officials began looking around for alternatives.
In 2009 the U.S. Congress earmarked approximately $2 million for a new facility, thanks to support from Senators John Thune and Tim Johnson, and Representative Stephanie Herseth as well as some elected officials in Wyoming. Groundbreaking occurred in October of 2010, the building was complete in December of 2011, and the move-in process began. The new building has space for several offices, consoles for approximately a half-dozen dispatchers, and a large room which can be used for expanded dispatch during major emergency incidents, or for training during the off-season.
The agencies that are served by the NGPIDC include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, South Dakota State Wildland Fire Suppression Division, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Wyoming Forestry Division, and the Nebraska Forest Service.
The new phone numbers at the NGPIDC are 605-716-2738, 800-275-4955, and Fax 605-343-5075.
The South Dakota State Wildland Fire Suppression Division has offices for several of their employees in the dispatch center at the airport which will have to be moved before the airport bulldozes the building. The last I heard they were still uncertain about their new location.
I stopped by to check out the new facility on Wednesday, and Sheri Fox, Center Manager, was kind enough to let me take some photos. It turned out that a Fire Science class from Western Dakota Tech was just beginning a tour, so I tagged along.
Here are some photos I took of the new facility:
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The following was released on PRWeb by the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), a Washington-based trade association representing commercial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting. It is a good update on the status of four companies that provide helicopters for wildland fire management, Erickson, Columbia, Intermountain, and Rogers.
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Aerial Firefighters Gearing Up For The 2012 Wildland Forest Fire Season
Helicopter operators specializing in aerial firefighting are anticipating an early start to the 2012 wildland fire season.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 25, 2012
“With near record lows in rainfall, combined with record high temperatures in much of California in December–plus ongoing dry conditions throughout much of the Southwest–the aerial firefighters are preparing for an earlier than normal deployment of assets, given the prevailing high fire dangers, especially in those parts of the country,” said Tom Eversole, Executive Director of the American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA) in Washington.
“For us, the 2011 fire season never really went away,” noted Dan Sweet, Public Relations Manager for Columbia Helicopters in Portland, Oregon. “For instance, we have had a Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II in Big Spring, Texas, since March of last year, and expect to keep that helicopter there for the immediate future.” Sweet noted that Columbia performs heavy maintenance, as well as pilot training during the winter months. This year, 15-20 pilots will be assigned to four of the company’s aircraft–three Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II’s, and one Columbia Helicopters Model 234 Chinook–which will be operated under US Forest Service (USFS) exclusive-use contracts for firefighting. That is the same number operated for the USFS in 2011. Concurrently, 30-40 field maintenance crews are undergoing training.
Portland/Central Point Oregon based Erickson Air-Crane has yet to see a break in activity pertaining to the fire season on a global level. Currently the company holds 5 contracted locations in Australia between the Central, Southern and Eastern portions. In December a 6th location was requested by the Fire Authorities for Erickson to provide an S-64 Helitanker for Western Australia operating out of Perth. Half of these will return to the United States and the other half will be shipped to Greece under contract with the Greek fire authorities. San Diego Gas and Electric requested an addition S-64 in August to augment its power line construction and fire standby through the middle of January 2012 for the greater San Diego City and County areas. Erickson is also gearing up for the U.S. fire season with 6 S-64’s under exclusive use contracts with the U.S. Forest Service with 2 additional aircraft assigned to the city of Los Angeles, CA. Erickson Air-Crane will be operating 16 of their own aircraft and providing maintenance and crewing for up to 5 additional customer owned S-64’s.
Intermountain Helicopters of Sonora, California is also getting ready for an active fire season through an aggressive maintenance program on its Bell 212 and Bell 412 twin engine helicopters, according to Rick Livingston, Director of Operations. Currently, Intermountain Helicopters has a six person staff, which includes four pilots and three mechanics, some of whom are cross-trained to fly and maintain the aircraft. “All annual inspections are done prior to the fire season, in order to avoid component failure in the field during mid-season,” Livingston noted. “That’s why, when a component is within about 100 hours of change out, we’ll do it immediately, rather than let it go to the life limit, and risk a failure in the field. We have a very proactive, preventative maintenance program, not just for the helicopters, but the fuel trucks, and maintenance trailers that go out with them.”
Fresno, California-based Rogers Helicopters’ Vice-President Robin Rogers reported the company, which operates a mixed fleet of 11 single and twin-engine helicopters, has two Bell 212s and one Eurocopter A-star helicopter, along with a fixed wing Turbo Commander aircraft, ready for dispatch. “In addition to annual aircraft scheduled maintenance checks, our staff of 25 mechanics also perform annual inspections of our support equipment, which includes a combination of 30 fuel trucks, and maintenance trailers,” said Rogers. “We also inspect all of the equipment that needs to be aboard each aircraft, by contract, such as the Bambi buckets, and long lines.” Recurrent and upgrade pilot training is also done concurrently with the maintenance period. Right now, Rogers Helicopters employs 40 pilots, of which 22 are full time. As with maintenance, all pilot training is done in-house. “Our training is pretty standardized, because there is really no way to predict the severity of the fire season until it happens,” said Rogers. “If history is any indication, you would usually see fire activity in California and the Southwest in the March or April time frame. But with the current dry conditions and the Santa Ana winds, a wildfire could break out any time.”
Columbia Helicopters, Erickson Air-Crane, Intermountain Helicopters, and Rogers Helicopters are members of the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association (AHSAFA), the Washington-based trade association representing commercial operators of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft engaged in aerial wildland firefighting.
Thanks go out to Dick
An artist's conception of Conair's British Aerospace Avro RJ85 air tanker. Image from Conair.
A Canadian air tanker company, Conair, has announced that they have purchased a jet-powered airliner and will be converting it into a Type 1 3,000-gallon air tanker. The aircraft is an Avro RJ85, which is a variant of a British Aerospace BAe-146. The difference is that the RJ85 has a longer fuselage and more efficient engines. The RJ85 seats up to 112 passengers as an airliner. Neptune leased a converted BAe-146 from Tronos and obtained “interim” approval from the Interagency Air Tanker Board in late 2011. In November and December it saw some limited use in Texas and California.
Judging from the artist’s conception of the planned air tanker conversion, it will have an internal tank, rather than a bolt-on external tank. Conair will be doing the actual conversion at their base at Abbotsford in British Columbia, Canada, but they have not announced if it will have a conventional constant-flow gravity tank or a pressurized tank. They expect to have the new 3,000-gallon air tanker ready for the 2013 fire season.
The RJ85 that Conair purchased in December is serial number E2270. It was previously operated by Lufthansa and was delivered in December, 1995. Here is a link to photos of the aircraft when it was flying for Lufthansa.
Below is an excerpt from a Conair news release:
We have undertaken a detailed evaluation of both the BAe 146 and Avro RJ85 including simulator and flight testing of the aircraft in the demanding low-level profile required in fire-fighting missions. It is important to note that we are working closely with BAE Systems as the Original Equipment Manufacturer. As a later variant of the BAe 146, the Avro RJ85 is a younger aircraft which will give longer life, and with its higher design weights and better ‘hot and high’ performance it will be a more suitable aircraft for these demanding missions.
With the improved performance of the RJ85 coupled with what we believe to be a game-changing tank design, the RJ85 Airtanker will offer a significant improved mission capability compared to existing, new and proposed aircraft including the BAe 146-200.
Conair operates a boatload of air tankers, including 10 CV580s and 17 single engine air tankers. Several of their CV580 air tankers saw service in the United States during the last part of the 2011 fire season after the U.S. Forest Service cancelled Aero Union’s contract for their eight P3 air tankers over a dispute about inspections.
Conair's fleet of CV580 air tankers
