One of our loyal readers, Lone Ranger, has alerted us to something he found on Google Earth while researching the Esperanza Fire — a satellite photo of a P2V air tanker flying over the fire, perhaps about to make a drop along a dozer line. Or, maybe it’s just orbiting. I was not able to find a shadow of the aircraft so it’s difficult to determine how far he was above the ground.
To check it out yourself, in Google Earth search for 33.844446 -116.845768
At the bottom-left, click on the year. That will cause a slider to appear at the upper left. Drag the slider over to 10/26/2006, then zoom in.
Brian says he found three helicopters and one air tanker on Google Earth Wallow fire satellite photos.
http://goo.gl/lZUgy
Just spotted a third aircraft, W of the first one, at 33.846248° and -116.864416°.
I have collected Placemarks for these 3 into a KML at http://www.fireimaging.com/fires/2006/california/esperanza/300/Aircraft%20at%20the%20Esperanza%20Fire.kml.
Good job, Robert, finding the additional two aircraft. The one to the northwest looks like a P3. The southernmost one, I’m not sure. Maybe an S2 or a lead plane?
My guess is that the red haze at the front of the aircraft is the start of a retardant plume as a drop is being initiated between the flaming front (red patch) and the dozer line immediately NNE. There’s another aircraft down to the SE, by the flames at 33.823700° and -116.819089°.