The Honey Prairie fire in south Georgia increased by 19,521 acres on Monday and by 10:00 a.m. Tuesday added another 9,556 acres, for a total of 90,990 acres. The fire has grown by 81,310 acres since Wednesday, May 4.
The map of the fire shows that it has burned across the state line from Georgia into Florida. It is still burning primarily within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge but has crossed that boundary too, moving out of the refuge on the east side.
Map of the Honey Prairie fire, 10:00 a.m., May 10, 2011
It is being managed by a Georgia Type 2 Incident Management Team under a unified command between the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Florida Division of Forestry has made preparations for the fire. Thinking that a fire would come out of the swamp eventually, last fall they conducted some prescribed fires between Highway 2 and a railroad north of the highway, removing fuel that would be available to a fire.
In June, 2002, I was on the Blackjack Bay fire that burned in the same area, and it also crossed the border into Florida. Here are a couple of photos of that fire.
Blackjack Bay fire June, 2002Blackjack Bay fire June, 2002
North Carolina's CL-215 before it was sold in March. State of NC photo.
A month before the Pains Bay fire started in North Carolina, the state’s Division of Forest Resources sold their only large air tanker, a CL-215, on eBay. The aircraft was built by Canadair in 1969 and was purchased by North Carolina in 1998 for $4 million. It had been mothballed since May, 2008 because it had become too expensive to operate, David Lane, head of the forest protection for the division, said in 2007. Lane said it cost up to $1.2 million a year, which was 35 percent of the division’s aircraft budget. The state did not have the funding for an estimated $1.5 million needed for repairs and FAA-required maintenance.
North Carolina listed the aircraft on eBay and accepted the winning bid of $445,099 from Buffalo Airways of Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, Canada on March 30, 2011. Buffalo Airways purchased it sight unseen and planned to fly a team to Hickory, NC to perform necessary maintenance and repairs, then fly it 5,000 miles to its new home.
Since then, some recent news reports about the 20,954-acre Pains Bay fire on the North Carolina coast have included criticism of the sale of the air tanker. Tom Crews is the Fire Management Officer of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge where the fire is burning, and was the Type 3 Incident Commander before Mike Quesinberry’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command on May 8. Crews has been quoted as saying:
If we’d had the CL 215, we’d have been able to stop this fire by now, there’s no doubt in my mind.
and:
It’s a real workhorse. It can drop more than three times as much water as any other plane.
A CL-215, according to the CalFire Firefighting Aircraft Recognition Guide, can hold 1,300 to 1,621 gallons, depending on the model. Other air tankers can drop from 300 to 20,000 gallons.
The state of North Carolina has four single engine air tankers (SEATs). Three of them are Melex M18A Dromader’s, and one is a Rockwell S2R. These SEATs can drop 400 to 500 gallons of water or retardant. The state has a fire Aviation Resources web page, but it was last updated in 2008.
The CL-215 air tanker is not the only wildfire aircraft that the state wants to sell. Here is an excerpt from a May 17, 2010 report from Wildfire Today about a panel’s recommendation that they dispose of another 19 aircraft used for fire management:
Pains Bay fire, Hwy. 264. Photo: Rob Shackelford, NCFS
The Pains Bay fire on the North Carolina coast added another 5,000 acres yesterday, bringing its total to 20,954 acres in spite of receiving a small amount of rain over the last 24 hours. According to a RAWS weather station in the DARE Bomb Range just outside the fire, 0.07″ rain fell Sunday morning with another 0.01″ Monday at 11:00 a.m.
The map below shows the location of the fire, which is approximately 19 miles south of Manns Harbor, NC.
Map of the Pains Bay Fire, showing heat detected by satellites, updated at 12:45 p.m. MT, May 9, 2011. MODIS/Google
Smoke from the fire is severely impacting some of the local areas. The map below shows the distribution of the smoke from the Pains Bay fire (upper right on the map) as well as the Honey Prairie fire in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia which has burned 61,000 acres.
Smoke from fires in North Carolina and Florida, May 9, 2011. NOAA
Here is an excerpt from an update on the Pains Bay fire from InciWeb, dated 10:30 p.m., May 8:
Today, fire behavior was reduced due to the light rains, cooler temperatures, and calmer winds. Firefighters used this advantage to strengthen and improve containment lines along Jackson, Long Curve, and Perimeter Roads in preparation for backburning, should it become necessary.
Later in the day, tractors plowed a line from Long Curve Road to Lake Worth in an effort to stop the fire’s movement to the north. Again, this line could serve as an anchor point for backfiring, should the need arise.
US Highway 264 continued to be closed for a 10-mile stretch between Stumpy Point and Engelhard. The Temporary Flight Restriction was increased to a 15 mile radius and 2,000′ ceiling. The Type 1 helicopter worked today doing water drops using an 800-gallon bucket. The smaller, Type 2 helicopter also made water drops today. Both were mostly working to extinguish hot spots within the interior of the fire and catch spotovers when they occurred.
The fire continued to produce large volumes of smoke; however, much of the smoke appeared to be from ground fire in the interior of the fire.
An article in the Outer Banks Sentinel points out that the State of North Carolina sold their air tanker, a CL 215 “Super Scooper” made by Bombardier, because of budget problems, and “it was too expensive to maintain”. The article gets several facts wrong, saying “It can drop more than three times as much water as any other plane”. According to the CalFire Firefighting Aircraft Recognition Guide, a CL 215 air tanker can hold 1,300 to 1,621 gallons, depending on the model. Large air tankers hold 2,000 to 3,000 gallons, while the largest, Evergreen’s 747 SuperTanker, holds 20,000 gallons. Most Type 1 helicopters can drop 1,000 to 2,600 gallons. The smallest Type 1, the Kaman “K-Max”, carries 700 gallons, while the largest, a Boeing 234 “Chinook”, has a capacity of 3,000 gallons.
Here is an excerpt from the article, where it discusses the fact that the fire is very near a bombing range:
…Firefighters have been told to not follow the fire into the Dare Bombing Range (DBR) target areas used by US Air Force and US Navy planes.
“If you see what looks like a pipe, don’t pick it up,” said Crews. “DBR will take over if it hits the target area where there is ordnance.” The practice bombs contain phosphorus which can be hazardous to those who come into contact with them.
Joe Lafferty, manager of the US Air Force portion of DBR, said that the gates across the bombing range roads have been opened to allow fire personnel access, and all training operations have been shut down. The US Navy portion of the range did not have a representative at the briefing.
Pains Bay fire 5-7-2011. Photo: B. Strawser, USF&WS
Mike Quesinberry’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command Sunday of the 15,000-acre Pains Bay fire on the outer Banks of North Carolina (Google map of the area, scroll farther down this page for a fire perimeter map). The fire became more interesting Saturday when it moved onto a bombing range about 19 miles south of Manns Harbor.
Rob Shackleford being interviewed about the Pains Bay fire by WNCT.
Inciweb has an overview of the fire:
The Pains Bay Fire was reported on the afternoon of Thursday, May 5, 2011. It was mostly likely caused by lightning strikes in the wetlands on between Pains and Parched Corn Bays on the south side of US Highway 264 just south of Stumpy Point, NC. The burn area and it’s immediate projected path are located on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Dare County, NC.
Low relative humidity, extremely dry and dense fuels, and gusty winds caused rapid spread of the fire. Immediate efforts were directed to keep the fire south of US Highway 264 and bewteen the two bays; hoever, by the afternoon of Friday, May 6, the fire had crossed the ditch at Parched Corn Bay and headed north on the east side of US Highway 264 and jumped US Highway 264 to the north and headed toward the Dare County Range- a US Air Force Practice site.
As the week progressed, the fire continued to spread. By Saturday evening, May 7, the fire had grown to over 15,000 acres and had crossed into the Dare County Range. At this point, the Pains Bay Fire became a multi-jurisdictional fire, managed jointly by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the NC Forest Service, who has fire suppression responsibility for the Dare County Range.
On Saturday, the Southern Area Blue Type 1 Team arrived on the Outer Banks to assume primary responsibility for the fire suppression efforts. Local firefighters from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the NC Forest Service, National Park Service, and Volunteer Fire Departments from Stumpy Point, Manns Harbor, Roanoke Island, and Colington will continue to provide local knowledge, experience, and resource to support this fire suppression effort.
Here is a map of the Pains Bay fire. The red line shows the active, uncontrolled fire edge.
Ken MacDonald took this photo of the Lochailort fire in the Scottish Highlands of the United Kingdom. He said: “The photo was taken while on my way by boat to collect a fire crew who had been protecting a remote cottage from the fires.”
Martin Mars air tanker taking off; a screen grab from the video below.
The Martin Mars air tanker that began a 20-day contract on April 24 to assist the Mexican government with suppression of their wildfires has been busy recently after being grounded for a while by strong winds.
Here is an excerpt from an article at Canada.com, dated May 6, 2011:
…The aircraft and its accompanying Sikorsky helicopter started making drops last Friday, said Wayne Coulson, who owns both aircraft through the Coulson Group of Companies.
The aircraft has been working seven hours a day, dropping up to 10 loads of water, said Coulson. On Monday, the Mars dumped 210,000 litres of water and gel.
“We’re flying her more than we ever have,” said Coulson from his Port Alberni office this week.
The expanse of the wildfires is overwhelming, he added. “A big chunk of the country is on fire – it’s right down to Cancun,” Coulson said. The enemy is the weather. Temperatures have soared to 46 C and then dipped to 10 C, perfect conditions for thunderstorms.
“The lighting strikes are just relentless,” Coulson said.
The helicopter uses infrared cameras to see through smoke and pinpoint the location of the flames. It has been a valuable asset for the Mexicans, said Coulson. They have used the helicopter to map fires and set their priorities on what order they should be attacked. The success of the technological improvements is gratifying.
“We’ve waited almost three years to be able to prove we can go and utilize this technology,” he said. “They really watch their pesos, and for every aircraft that’s working, [the fire bosses] are filming and making determinations.”
Having an aircraft drop water in the middle of a fire does not do any good because the flames are moving out along the edges, he said. A YouTube video of the Martin Mars shows it making its drop along the leading edge of the fire, creating a fire break with surrounding land.
Every drop of water and gel has to be accurate and cost-effective for the customer, said Coulson. A single drop by the Martin Mars can cost the customer $15,000.
A normal day begins with the Sikorsky flying from Texas into Mexico to clear customs and obtain one-day permit to be in the country and pick up Mexican bosses. At the end of the day, the helicopter hands in its permit to Mexican officials and returns to Texas where it again clears customs.
Martin Mars air tanker practice drop; screen grab from the video below.
Check out the video below, uploaded to YouTube on June 24, 2010. It includes several practice drops, some of which were filmed by the infrared camera on the helicopter the airtanker uses as a lead plane, a Sikorsky S-76B.
