News and opinion about wildland fire
Firefighters working on the Taylor Creek Fire in southeast Montana on Friday the 13th were treated at the Ashland Clinic after mopping up a hot spot that turned out to be a surface seam of coal. The seven firefighters suffered from nausea caused by sulfur dioxide. They all returned to duty later that day.
Thanks go out to Dick
Firefighters are starting to get a handle on the large fires in southeast Oregon and southwest Idaho.
The Long Draw Fire north of McDermitt, Nevada has burned 582,313 acres and is 100 percent contained. A transition to a Type 3 Incident Management Team will take place at 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 17.
The Jacks Fire, on BLM land 21 miles southwest of Bruneau, Idaho, is 90 percent contained at 45,000 acres.
The Miller Homestead Fire west of Frenchglen, Oregon is 70 percent contained after burning 162,765 acres. Here are some photos of the fire:
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Air tanker veers off runway while attempting takeoff at Cedar City A single engine air tanker (SEAT) veered off the runway while it was attempting to take off at Cedar City, Utah on July 12. There were strong winds at the time due to thunderstorms in the area. The SEAT, Tanker 896, apparently lost control due to the wind and exited the runway, but remained upright.
Our source told us that there were no injuries and that there was minimal obvious damage to the aircraft. However, it was removed from the airport on July 15 by the owner, who replaced it with another SEAT.
A SAFECOM report was filed, but it has not yet appeared on the web site.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized14 Comments on After September 4, there may be only 6 air tankers available 
Having only 9 large air tankers on full time exclusive use contracts is a major reduction from the 44 we had in 2002, but after September 4, 2012 there may be only 6 working, unless the U.S. Forest Service extends them beyond the mandatory availability period specified in their contracts. The above chart, which we prepared using data supplied by the National Interagency Fire Center, shows the mandatory availability period for the 11 air tankers that we started with at the beginning of the 2012 fire season. We lost two on June 3 when one crashed, killing the two person crew, and a second that was damaged after the landing gear failed to fully extend upon landing.
Knowing at the beginning of the fire season that only 11 air tankers would be available, the USFS still only scheduled each air tanker on a staggered basis for five to six months each, rather than extending the beginning and ending times for each of these limited resources. In a normal wildfire year with normal weather, the fire season in the northern latitudes begins to decline in September. We no longer have “normal”, and even if we did, having only 6 air tankers after September 4 makes it impossible to initial attack new fires with both air and ground resources, increasing the chance that some fires will become large, destructive, and very, very expensive to suppress. Some may even cause fatalities and destroy hundreds of homes as we have seen too often this year already.
As a minimum, during the short term, the availability periods for all nine air tankers that are left on long term contracts should be extended until November 30, IF the vendors can supply crews to maintain and fly the aircraft during those time frames. And the three very large air tankers, the two DC-10s and the 747, should be brought on and awarded long term exclusive use contracts.
In addition, instead of shutting down every air tanker for one day a week while the flight crew takes a well-deserved day off, bring in a relief crew to fly the aircraft for one or even two days. And even use relief crews to give the pilots a week off once or twice a summer, reducing the hardship on them and their families. This could improve the turnover rate of flight crews who are typically away from home for much of the year.
Before the end of this year, Neptune expects to bring on two additional BAe-146 air tankers, and Minden has plans to deploy one BAe-146. In 2013 there should be four more air tankers: an additional BAe-146 from Minden, two MD87s from Aero Air, and one RG85 from Aero Flite.
For the long term, the USFS should, instead of adding just 7 air tankers over the next two years, that number should be increased to 25 to 30 over the next 4 years, bringing the total number of air tankers to 35 to 40.
*Note about the chart: The ending date for Tanker 40 is unclear, since the contract list, as shown above, lists the date as October 43, 2012.
I stopped by the Custer, South Dakota airport the other day and talked with the helitack crew and checked out the firefighting helicopters on the ramp.
The K-MAX in the photos is operated by Swanson Group Aviation and is assigned to Custer as one of the 34 Type 1 helicopters on national contracts this year. It can be a little rare to see a Type 1 ship actually parked at their “assigned” station, since as a national resource they move around frequently. This one and the AStar below had just returned from working on fires in Colorado.
These photos look like they are distorted — no helicopter can look like this, right? But they are unedited except for cropping. Kaman Aircraft only built 38 of them between 1991 and 2003, and 25 are still flying. Eight of those 25 are on exclusive use contracts with the U.S. Forest Service for firefighting. My theory is that the USFS likes the K-MAX because it is much less expensive than the other five models of Type 1 helicopters on contract, but they can still count it as a Type 1, even though it may be about 20 gallons short of being able to carry the 700-gallons of water required as the minimum for a Type 1. The K-MAX has about 25 percent of the capacity of an Aircrane and the cost is also about 25 percent. The USFS pays $1,924 per flight hour for a K-MAX K-1200 compared to $7,718 for an Aircrane which can carry 2,650 gallons of water.
The most striking feature — well there are several, actually — are the two counter-rotating main rotors. Since they rotate in opposite directions, the torque is balanced, leading to striking feature number two — there is no need for a tail rotor. Striking feature number three is the extraordinarily thin width of the ship when viewed from the front. It looks like there is barely enough room for one pilot to squeeze into the cockpit.
The K-MAX is one of the few helicopters specifically designed to do nothing but carry external loads. Kaman made no compromises. There is no room for a passenger, very little room for internal cargo, and no wasted space or weight.
The second helicopter at Custer was a Eurocopter AS 350 B3, usually called an AStar. This one is operated by Roberts Helicopters out of Cheyenne, WY.
It’s nice that the two helicopter vendors got together and coordinated the paint schemes.
A little trivia about the AS 350 B3: it was first helicopter model to land on the summit of Mt. Everest, 29,030 feet above sea level.
The Departments of Interior and Agriculture are working closely, and quickly, with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement President Obama’s directive to allow seasonal firefighters to purchase health insurance. It could happen in a matter of days. Yes, the federal government can accomplish things in a hurry when motivated.
After the details are ironed out as to which categories of employees will be eligible, the only thing that has to happen to make it a reality is for OPM to publish a new interim rule. And they are planning on eliminating requirements for lengthy notification periods and public comments so that it would be effective immediately. Public comments will still be accepted while the interim rule is in effect, and it is possible there could be changes before it becomes final. Then the agency human resources folks will have to figure out how to implement the new rule, if and when it goes into effect.
The strategy OPM is planing to use is to latch on to an existing regulation. Currently the only circumstances under which seasonal or temporary employees may secure coverage under the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program are those set forth in 5 U.S.C. 8906a, which entitles temporary employees who have completed one full year of continuous employment to secure coverage at their own expense. Seasonal firefighters, of course, do not work continuously for a year, so they do not qualify under this provision. OPM intends to change this to make firefighters eligible for the FEHB program.
But… and it’s a big BUT. The way we are interpreting this, is that firefighters would have to pay the full cost of the insurance premium, without any cost sharing from their employer, the federal government, which pays about 70 or 75 percent for career employees. While this would be a substantial expense for a GS-3 or GS-4 employee working for three or six months a year, it would not cost as much as purchasing health insurance on the open market, since firefighters could take advantage of the group pricing provided for a very large pool of customers, federal employees.
Another benefit to seasonal firefighters is that there would be no screening or rate adjustment for pre-existing health conditions. This could be huge a advantage for some family members of firefighters.
And we’re not done yet. In an early draft of the proposed rule, the OPM is considering allowing employees who routinely respond to hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other such emergencies, to enroll in a health benefits plan.
All of the above is subject to change. We won’t know anything for sure until the interim and ultimately the final rules are published.
What next?
While this rule change, allowing seasonal firefighters to enroll in the FEHB, is a major step in the right direction, it should not be the final answer. Seasonal firefighters do not make a lot of money and many will not be able to pay 100 percent of the insurance premium. Changes should be made to require their employing agency to pay their 70-75 percent share as is done for career employees. Or, make all firefighters career employees.
