A pilot was killed August 19 in the crash of a helicopter while working on the Hills Fire, approximately 9 miles south of the City of Coalinga. Air and ground resources responded immediately to the crash site which was in rugged terrain. The pilot was the only person aboard and the name has not been disclosed. Local TV station ABC30 said the helicopter was on a water dropping mission.
CAL FIRE released the information about the crash, saying the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and CAL FIRE is assisting.
Zoe Keliher, a spokesperson for the NTSB, said the helicopter will be recovered August 20 and moved to a location for further examination. She confirmed that the registration number of the aircraft is N711GH.
Personnel with the FAA said the aircraft crashed around 10 a.m. Wednesday and the accident started a new fire.
FAA records show that it is a Bell UH-1H manufactured in 2009 and owned by Guardian Helicopters, Inc. of Van Nuys, California.
The Hills Fire started Saturday and has burned about 1,500 acres. ABC30 said the fire started by the crash will likely burn into the Hills Fire.
We send out our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Pamela, Jim, and Douglas.
The red line was the perimeter of the Loyalton Fire at 4:30 p.m. PDT August 16, 2020. The white line was the perimeter at 2:19 a.m. August 16, 2020.
The map above was updated using data from a fixed wing mapping flight over the Loyalton Fire Sunday afternoon at 4:30. It is more accurate than the map below from an earlier flight that was supplemented with the red dots representing heat detected by a satellite. That flight plus data collected later by other means determined the fire had burned 36,295 acres
August 16, 2020 | 7:02 p.m. PDT
The red line was the perimeter of the Loyalton Fire at 2:19 a.m. PDT August 16, 2020. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:48 p.m. PDT August 16, 2020.
The Loyalton Fire in northeast California 12 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada started at about 4:30 p.m. August 14 east of Loyalton, California. It burned north and east adjacent to the areas of Beckwourth Pass and Hallelujah Junction. Early Sunday morning a mapping flight calculated it had burned 29,829 acres. That was confirmed later in the day by the Tahoe National Forest.
Sunday afternoon it was pushed to the east and southeast by an 8 to 15 mph wind out of the northwest and was approaching the Nevada border at 2:48 P.M. MDT.
On August 15 meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Reno observed on radar a very rare fire tornado in real time at the Loyalton Fire about 12 miles northwest of the city. They used emergency warning systems to transmit tornado warnings as quickly as possible to firefighters and the general public. It is believed that this is the first time a real time warning for a fire tornado has ever happened, at least in the United States. More information about this very unusual event is at Wildfire Today.
“LOYALTON FIRE #LoyaltonFire
ROAD CLOSURE AND EVACUATIONS
State Route 70 is now open to thru traffic. Please continue to use caution due to first responders working in the area. US 395 is now open without restrictions. Please continue to use caution due to first responders working in the area.
A Mandatory Evacuation Order has been lifted for residents from US 395 at Red Rock Road south to US 395 at State Route 70.
A Mandatory Evacuation Order has been downgraded to an Evacuation Warning for residents along roads accessed by State Route 70 on the north and south side of State Route 70.
A Mandatory Evacuation Order has been downgraded to an Evacuation Warning for residents from the intersection of State Route 49 and 70 east to State Route 70 and US 395. US 395 south to the Sierra County line. This encompasses everything south of State Route 70 and west of US 395.”
The map shows the predicted distribution of smoke from wildfires at 4 p.m. MDT August 14, 2020. Locations expected to impacted at that time will include parts of southern California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Ms. Veseth was killed by a falling tree while working on a fire in Idaho
Anne Veseth. USFS photo.
Eight years ago today, in 2012, Anne Veseth was killed while working on the Steep Corner Fire 56 miles northeast of Orofino, Idaho. The fire was on private property and was being managed by the Clearwater‐Potlatch Timber Protective Association (CPTPA). Ms. Veseth, in her second season working as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, was killed when she was struck by a falling 150-foot fire-weakened green cedar tree. The tree fell on its own and was 13 inches in diameter where it struck her.
Lolo Peak Fire at 8:14 p.m. MDT August 19, 2017 as seen from the Missoula area. Photo by Jim Loach.
On March 19, 2020 I took an early look at the topic of how we were going to fight fires during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is time for another look.
A very interesting study released August 1 used modeling to show how COVID-19 could spread through firefighters assigned to large wildfires. Using actual firefighter mobilization data for three different sized fires in 2017 they estimated that on an incident similar in size and duration to the Lolo Peak Fire that burned 53,000 acres south of Missoula, Montana, approximately one to 13 fire personnel could be killed by the COVID-19 virus.
The U.S. Forest deserves praise for funding this very important study that applies science to an issue that literally can be life or death for firefighters. It is based on a model, and as they say, all models are wrong, but some are useful.
It really illustrates a risk that is added to what was already one of the more dangerous professions, fighting wildfires.
Another facet to consider in addition to the potential fatalities is, how many will be infected? Many will be non-symptomatic and could unknowingly spread the virus to their colleagues, friends, children, spouse, parents, and grandparents unless they are very careful about their interactions.
Frequent testing with rapid results is imperative to reduce the risk of our firefighters being killed by a virus during their daily work activities or while assigned to a fire.
Fatalities are the worst possible outcome of course, but if one to thirteen could die on a fire like the Lolo Peak Fire under COVID-19 conditions, how many will be hospitalized, spend weeks on a ventilator, or suffer long-term debilitating symptoms? Will some firefighters mostly recover but incur permanent damage to their lungs, heart, or other organs, ending their career? Who will pay the medical bills? With long term physical problems, will they qualify for disability benefits?
Wildland firefighters are tactical athletes. College football program administrators in the Power 5 conference are concerned about a heart condition exhibited by some of their athletes which may be linked to COVID, but it is too soon to say for sure.
Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, has been found in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences, according to two sources with knowledge of athletes’ medical care… Left undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause heart damage and sudden cardiac arrest, which can be fatal.
And then there are the “long haulers”. From the Cleveland Clinic:
Approximately 80% of those with COVID-19 end up having a mild response and most of those cases resolve in about two weeks. For people who have a severe response to the virus, it can take between three and six weeks to recover.
But now, there is growing concern over a separate group who don’t seem to fall into either of those categories. A number of people are now reporting lingering symptoms of the illness for one, two or even three months. This new group is mixed with those who experienced both mild and severe cases. As health experts step in to try to manage these patients and learn more, many are referring to this group as coronavirus “long-haulers” or “long-termers.”
There is much still unknown about this novel virus.
Wildland firefighters are defending and protecting our homeland, a fact our government, including our Senators and Congressmen, need to recognize. These men and women on the front lines must be equipped with hardware and aircraft to match the quality supplied to our military. They all need to be working under Firefighter job descriptions (not forestry technicians), employed year-round, and must be paid a living wage. They also need access to useful and effective mental health counseling and support to try to stem the rising tide of firefighter suicides.
