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Sir Charles assists in campaign to get firefighting helicopters for Lake Tahoe

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 6 Comments on Sir Charles assists in campaign to get firefighting helicopters for Lake Tahoe
Charles Barkley, Tahoe helicopters
Charles Barkley and Tahoe Douglas Fire Chief Scott Lindgren are helping to spread the word about a campaign to acquire two firefighting helicopters for the Lake Tahoe area. Still image from South Lake Tahoe Now video.

NBA legend Charles Barkley is helping the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department spread the word about a campaign to acquire two firefighting helicopters for the Lake Tahoe area in Northern California, which according to the Fire Chief is devoid of permanent helicopter coverage.

From the description and amount of funds being sought, it appears their hope is to purchase two Sikorsky S-70i Firehawk helicopters capable of carrying up to 1,000 gallons of water and also capable of responding to medical incidents with a paramedic and full advanced life support equipment. In order to have continuous coverage with a helicopter, you need at least two in a fleet to account for scheduled and unexpected maintenance.

The article below by Paula Peterson was first published on SouthTahoeNow.com.

STATELINE, Nev. – Charles Barkley remembers the American Century Championship in July 2007 very well. He and the other celebrities had arrived at Lake Tahoe to golf in the annual tournament at Edgewood Tahoe, but that year it was different.

The devastating Angora Fire started off of North Upper Truckee Road on June 24, and before it was done on July 2 it had burned through 3,100 acres, destroyed 242 residences and 67 commercial structures, damaged 35 other homes, and engaged 2,180 firefighters.

Barkley said they couldn’t “yuck” it up at celebrity golf across the lake and have fun while nearby residents were dealing with such a catastrophe. He asked NBC if he could take a camera crew into the fire-damaged area.

“I came up here 15 years ago and saw catastrophic damage. It broke my heart. I’d actually never seen fire damage before,” said Barkley.

He donated $190,000 to recovery efforts for residents over the following two years and treated firefighters and their spouses to dinner at Harrahs Tahoe.

At Edgewood Tahoe Saturday, during the 33rd annual American Century Championship, Tahoe Douglas Fire Chief Scott Lindgren held a press conference with Barkley to highlight his agency’s Operation Save Lake Tahoe.

Lindgren has said there is a giant hole in the middle of the Sierra without firefighting helicopter coverage, and that is the Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding mountains. He wants to change that with a $60 million plan that would bring two helicopters, a station, and training to not only Douglas County, but to the whole Lake Tahoe Basin and surrounding Sierra.

Fundraising efforts have been underway for months, but much more needs to be raised.

“So anything you can do to help, please help these guys get their helicopter, please, because, hey, we can’t let nothing happen to this place,” said Barkley.

“We can’t let it happen again,” Barkley said of the Angora Fire.

For more information or to donate, visit https://tahoefire.org/helicopter.

FBI using system to detect drones over wildfires, and the pilots

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 14 Comments on FBI using system to detect drones over wildfires, and the pilots
Lakeview IHC drone Operation
Lakeview Hotshots using a drone to assist with a burn operation in Alaska in 2019.

This article was first published at Fire Aviation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is using a new system to help wildland firefighters by detecting, identifying, and neutralizing drones that are illegally interfering with firefighting activities.

It is very dangerous to fly a drone near a fire at which helicopters or fixed wing aircraft are operating. A collision could impact the windscreen or damage the engine, props, rotors, or flight control surfaces, causing a crash. If a drone is seen near a fire the standard operating procedure is to remove all aircraft from the fire area until it is confirmed that the drone has left the scene. In other words, it interferes with firefighting efforts.

The FBI is working with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to use a system that can detect a drone flying over a fire within 30 seconds of it being launched.

From CNN:

“When the detection equipment finds the drone and identifies the operator’s location, we can very rapidly get that information to a ground intercept team who can then go make contact with that drone operator and essentially get them to stop flying that drone,” said James Peaco III, the weapons of mass destruction coordinator for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.

With a special sensor, the team can set up a boundary as large or as small as desired and get notified if a drone flies into that area, instantly obtaining precise details such as elevation, direction, speed as well as where the drone took off from and where the controller is currently standing.

“The first thing we do is order them to bring the drone back, explain to him that there’s a wildfire and flying that drone during a wildland fire is actually a federal felony,” Peaco said.

It’s a federal crime punishable by up to 12 months in prison to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands. Additionally, Congress has authorized the FAA to impose a civil penalty of up to $20,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement, or emergency response operations. The FAA treats these violations seriously, and will immediately consider swift enforcement action for these offenses.

According to the US Forest Service, in 2019 at least 20 documented instances of unauthorized drone flights over or near wildfires in seven states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Washington and Minnesota) resulted in aerial firefighting operations being temporarily shut down nine times. There is no centralized national mechanism to report unauthorized UAS flights over wildfires, so these are only the incidents that wildfire management agencies have become aware of, there are likely more that are not known about.

Suspending air operations could decrease the effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations, allowing wildfires to grow larger, and in some cases, unduly threaten lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources. The effects of lost aircraft time could be compounded by flames moving into untreated terrain.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom and Gerald.

CAL FIRE to add more firefighters, engines, dozers, and helicopters

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 13 Comments on CAL FIRE to add more firefighters, engines, dozers, and helicopters

Will add 1,503 personnel, 27 engines, 4 helicopters, and 10 dozers

CAL FIRE dozer and transport
File photo of a new dozer and transport for the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. CAL FIRE photo, March, 2019.

The new budget for California signed into law June 30 by Governor Gavin Newsom includes a massive increase for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2022.

Firefighters
The budget authorizes 11,293 positions, a 13 percent increase of 1,503 personnel. 

Helicopters
To add to the 12 new S70i Firehawk helicopters that were funded a couple of years ago, they will spend $99 million to purchase an additional 4 to help maintain continuous flight operations during critical fire weather conditions when frontline helicopters are due for maintenance. 

In addition, $45 million is set aside annually for the next three years to secure exclusive use (EU) contracts for 10 additional helitankers while awaiting the federal delivery of seven former Coast Guard C-130 air tankers that over the last 9 years have been waiting for the US Air Force to convert them into retardant-dropping air tankers.

CAL FIRE Director Joe Tyler told Fire Aviation in March that the incorporation of the seven former Coast Guard C-130 aircraft into the state’s air tanker fleet might be pushed back to 2024 due the pandemic/endemic and supply chain issues. This is in spite of the agency’s efforts in attempting to facilitate movement in the project. He said they had hoped to see some of the C-130s flying on fires this year. CAL FIRE is working with the Coast Guard, the Air Force, and the contractor who will install the retardant delivery system, Coulson Aviation.

California Conservation Corps (CCC) and California Military Department (CMD) Hand Crews 
Appropriated is $104 million and 238 positions starting now, and $50 million and 270 positions phased in over five years. Eight additional year-round hand crews will be added and 16 seasonal hand crews will be converted to year-round.

Four existing seasonal CAL FIRE/CCC hand crews will convert to year-round staffing in July 2022 and the personnel for the remaining two transitioned seasonal hand crews will be hired beginning January 2023. On these hand crews, two temporary Fire Captains (FC) per hand crew are replaced by three permanent FCs and three new FAEs are added to each hand crew. In total, 18 FCs and 18 FAEs will staff all six hand crews.

Ten existing seasonal CMD hand crews will be converted to year-round and four year-round CMD hand crews will be added for statewide response and fuels reduction projects.

Engines and Dozers
$36 million will be used to acquire surge capacity fire engines and bulldozers. This will add two additional engines in each of the 21 Units and six contract counties, plus 10 additional bulldozers. These resources will be available to be staffed during times of resource drawdown and critical fire activity.

Approximately $9 million will be used to hire support staff for the Firehawk program and positions for the contract EU helicopters,

July through December Fire Protection Augmentation
One-time funding of $83.1 million General Fund is available to augment fire protection resources from July through December 2022 given trends associated with climate change and current drought conditions, increasing fire severity and size, and declining inmate camp populations. It will be used to extend the staffing of 16 additional CAL FIRE firefighter hand crews through December 2022, plus support staff and training.

Santa Fe National Forest gets new acting Supervisor

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 42 Comments on Santa Fe National Forest gets new acting Supervisor

While the Forest Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest, Debbie Cress, is temporarily assigned to the acting Deputy Chief of Staff position for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, James Duran will serve as acting Supervisor for the next four months. This is occurring while the largest fire in the recorded history of New Mexico, the Hermits Peak / Calf Canyon Fire, is still not officially contained.

From the Associated Press:

Some have questioned the timing given that the wildfire has yet to be declared contained and recovery work has just begun.Forest officials have dismissed criticism, saying the opportunity for Cress to work at headquarters initially came up in January and was the culmination of her work over the past year with the agency’s leadership.

Cress acknowledged in a statement Friday that it was difficult timing as her home state deals with the aftermath of the massive wildfire.

Debbie Cress
Debbie Cress. USFS photo.

The 341,735-acre fire is the result of two prescribed fires on the Santa Fe National Forest that escaped control. One was  a broadcast burn that crossed control lines during a strong wind. The other originated from slash piles that were ignited in late January that continued burning for months. In mid-April one or more of the piles became very active and began spreading and merged with the other escaped fire on April 22.

In 2018 another pile burning project on the Santa Fe escaped months after it was ignited and had to be converted to a wildfire. A Facilitated Learning Analysis found that “communication” and “prescribed fire preparation and risk” were common themes.

Ms. Cress began as the Forest Supervisor in April of 2021. Three months before, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported, she had transferred from a District Ranger position in Arizona to be the Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Santa Fe National Forest.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jim and Gerald.

Member of veterans hand crew dies in off-duty accident

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 3 Comments on Member of veterans hand crew dies in off-duty accident

By Francis Starr O’leary

Christopher Kendrick
Christopher Kendrick (photo from the gofundme page)

Christopher Kendrick, a wildland firefighter, died while off duty July 4 when the car in which he was a passenger crashed on the way to an Independence Day fireworks display in Ukiah, Oregon. He is survived by his wife, Gabrielle, and their two-month-old son, Cecil. 

The 29-year-old Kendrick was a crew member on the Umatilla Veteran Crew (UVC), a Type 2 Initial Attack Hand Crew based out of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest in northeast Oregon.

Before becoming a wildland firefighter, Kendrick spent seven years in the U.S. Air Force, serving as a military policeman, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant before being medically discharged due to an illness he contracted during his second deployment to Afghanistan. Treatment for the disease included surgery to remove several feet of Kendrick’s small intestine, his gall bladder and his bile duct. 

Despite these medical setbacks, Kendrick remained undaunted and determined to continue serving his community. He chose to do so as a wildland firefighter. His first year of firefighting saw him serve on a BLM engine in Boise before joining the UVC for his sophomore year.

“He was really driven,” UVC Crew Supervisor Sam Bowen said. “After his injuries in the Air Force, he was really determined to find something similar to the military, a physical and mental challenge, as much to prove it to himself that he still had it as anything. I think he really found that in this job.”

Kendrick’s doggedness showed throughout his time with the UVC, according to crewmembers. During trying physical activities, he would tell his crewmates “I will die before I quit.” Those physical trials included the crew’s annual 12-mile training hike, which the crew said he completed without issue. Kendrick also participated in the UVC’s annual “Freedom Run,” a 17.76-mile run to celebrate the Fourth of July. Kendrick and the rest of the crew completed the run just three days before his passing.

The UVC has established a gofundme to support the Kendrick family during this period of mourning.