The sculptures in the above photos are made of tens of thousands of Crayola crayons that artist Herb Williams made to represent flames, intended to draw attention to the wildfires that have devastated some areas in Texas. The sculptures are supposed to melt under the hot Texas sun, changing their shapes at their installation at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. More photos are at their Facebook page (which was the source for these photos).
HughesNet sics bill collector on victim of Texas fire whose home burned in a wildfire. HughesNet insisted that the dish, the cable, and the modem be returned.
Michael Anthony Penn, 22, will be arraigned on Thursday for setting the Beaver Creek fire that burned about 60 acres near the U.S. Air Force Academy in the Pike National Forest in Colorado on August 19.
Five years ago today five U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters were entrapped and died on the Esperanza fire near Cabazon, California. Killed were engine Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 44, of Idyllwild; engine operator Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; assistant engine operator Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; and firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto. A fifth firefighter Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley, who was injured along with the other four, passed away on October 31. More articles about the Esperanza fire on Wildfire Today can be found HERE.
The International Association of Wildland Fire is reporting the deaths of two pilots in separate wildfire aviation accidents in Spain. One was a single engine air tanker that crashed on October 2, and the other was a mid-air collision of two helicopters on September 30. There was one fatality in each incident.
Status: Contractor to the Airborne Firefighting Service of the Galician Regional Government (INFOCAM) (INFOGA)
Years of Service: Very experienced pilot and had flown the last four fire seasons in Galicia (Galice) Spain. He was a master of the Aeroclub of Biscay, and wrote a very popular manual for obtaining a private pilot’s license.
Date of Incident: 2 October 2011
Time of Incident: approximately 1715 hours local time
Date of Death: 2 October 2011
Company: Martínez Ridao Company
Fire Department: Airborne Firefighting Service of the Galician Regional Government (INFOCAM)
Incident Description: Pilot Zubiaga, was helping to extinguish a large fire in the Serra da Meda, Galicia near the town of Arcucelos (Laza). The plane he was piloting, an Air Tractor AT802, crashed for reasons still unknown but the pilot had time to radio his base that something was wrong with the aircraft. Nearby observers saw the “aircraft was on a strange maneuver before plunging to the ground.” Firefighters from Verín started an immediate search and when they found the aircraft the Zubiaga was not inside. He died of unknown causes and was found about 150 meters from the crashed aircraft in an area of rough terrain. His body was discovered about 1900 hours local time and was taken to the Hospital Complex of Ourense. An autopsy was to be performed to determine cause of death. The Regional Ministry of Rural Affairs announced an inquiry would take place concerning the incident.
Incident Location: Autonomous Community of Galicia, Ourense-Xunta de Galicia province, in Serrra da Meda, between Laza and Verín to 42.008999,-7.482033. Galicia (Galice) is in northwest Spain and is bordered by Portugal to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Bay of Biscay to the north.
INCIDENT #2
Name: Leo Jenssen (from Denmark)
Rank: Pilot
Age: unknown
Gender: Male
Status: Contractor to the Airborne Firefighting Service of Castilla La Mancha Regional Government (Incendios Forestales Castilla La Mancha, INFOCAM)
Years of Service: More than 10700 flight hours and eight fire seasons in Spain
Date of Incident: 30 September 2011
Time of Incident: 1340 hours local time
Date of Death: 30 September 2011
Company: Grupo INAER
Company Address: Oficinas Centrales (INAER Helicópteros), Aeródromo de Mutxamel, Partida La Almaina, 92, 03110 Mutxamel, Alicante, SPAIN
Fire Department: Airborne Firefighting Service of the Castilla La Mancha Regional Government (Incendios Forestales Castilla La Mancha, INFOCAM)
Helicopter Contractor: Grupo INAER
Incident Description: Two helicopter Bell B212’s touched and crashed during aerial maneuvering to refill with water at the Bienservida reservoir. Pilot Jennsen (flying helicopter MSN 30775, CC-CIS) was the only one of the two pilots who died during the incident. The other pilot, Manuel Fuertes, with 13 years’ experience, (flying helicopter EC-GIC), survived with minor injuries and burns but walked away from the crash and was taken to the hospital in Ciudad Real. Pilot Jennsen was unconscious and with a pulse when extracted from the water and CPR was administered. Pilot Jennsen was pronounced dead at the hospital and reportedly died from drowning. He was working for INAER, for the Castilla La Mancha fire agency. The fire reported at 1245 hours local time was extinguished at only 6 ha. The Accident Investigation Commission and Civil Aviation Incidents (CIAIAC) of the Ministry of Development is responsible for the investigation. The helicopter had last undergone and passed a review on 22 September. At this time the cause of the accident is unknown.
Incident Location: Area known as Los Castellares in the Alcaraz Sierra, Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete province, at the Bienservida reservoir, 38.519429,-2.61137. Spain.
The U.S. Forest Service has released a facilitated learning analysis for a series of events that occurred on the Mother Lode fire on the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon September 4 through 7, 2011.
If you are a regular reader of Wildfire Today and think the Mother Lode fire sounds familiar, it’s because we featured a photo from it on September 18, which showed a Class A faller (qualified to fall trees smaller than 8 inches in diameter) cutting a very large tree which is barber-chairing, a very dangerous condition.
The entire FLA is HERE (7 MB), but we will include an excerpt of it below. The narrative picks up on September 7. Previously, on September 6, at least 90 firefighters engaged in line construction had to abandon their assignments due to fire activity and utilize escape routes. They spent the night on the fire at a couple of different locations but met at H2 the next day. On the morning of September 7, 85 firefighters were extracted from H2 by helicopters. Left at H2 were 5 people, rappellers and helitack personnel.
Here is an excerpt from the FLA, which reads like a novel with the names removed:
The Rappellers and Helitack continued to build loads of non essential gear while they waited for the sling missions to continue. They noticed some indicators of increasing fire behavior; scattered group torching and an increase in the main column. The fire edge closest to H2 was relatively calm, and was being checked by the Type 1 helicopter. When Air Attack had to leave the fire, the Lead Crewman from the Helitack Crew established communication with the Type 1 helicopter to act as lookout for H2. Shortly thereafter, the Type 1 helicopter had to leave the fire. Without the bucket support fire activity near H2 increased significantly.
At approximately 1500 Ship 1 returned for sling work but could not complete the mission because of smoke covering H2. He informed Air Attack on air to air. Ship 3 had just refueled at Helibase and was enroute to pick up the Rappellers. The Rappel Manager copied traffic on air to air in flight. As he approached the fire area for the first time he established communication with Rappeller 1 and could tell they were breathing hard. Ship 3 circled while Rappel Manager scanned the main ridge assuming that H2 was toward the top of the ridge. The fire activity the rappel manager saw along the ridge made him very uncomfortable. He estimated 200’ flame lengths off of sustained crown runs. He said “This isn’t good.”
The Rappellers and Helitack left H2 when fire behavior adjacent to the helispot increased. They headed for the East side of the East Lake (Figure 4). The foot travel was slow through the thick rhododendron. It took them approximately 12 minutes to get there. As they reached the lake they looked back at H2 and could see that it was now burning.
Recognizing that the Rappel manager could not establish their position, Rappeller 2 waded into the lake to signal their location to the helicopter. The Manager spotted Rappeller 2 and immediately felt a sense of relief. He began looking for places to land nearby. He hovered over the area he thought was the best location for an extraction site and Rappeller 2 acknowledged he saw the location. The Rappel Manager then called Air Attack to inform him they intend to let down 2 saws to cut H3. Rappeller 2 and 3 headed up the ridge to their South to begin looking for H3 . Rappeller 1 stayed to communicate the plan with the Helitack Crew.
At about 1530 the ICT3 tells the Forest Agency Administrator that he needs to order a Type 2 team and stated that if they wanted to continue managing this at the 3 level, they will need to find a new Type 3 IC.
At approximately 1545 Ship 1 flew back to helibase to reconfigure for crew extract. Ship 3 also started back to helibase to reconfigure for cargo let down. Enroute they chose to land in a dry creek bed. On the way out the Rappel Manager noticed two spots southeast of the main fire edge. Minutes later on the way back to H3 the spots were approximately 50 acres. They arrived at H3 and letdown the chainsaws. Ship 1 and Ship 3 orbited the fire waiting for H3 to be completed. During this time Ship 2 provided bucket support trying to cool the edge nearest H3.
Rappeller 2 and 3 began falling trees. Rappeller 1 positioned herself at a vantage to keep eyes on the fire. The Helitack Crew came up from the lake to help move material and there was a highly coordinated and tightly coupled effort to get the helispot done quickly. Rappeller 2 and 3 used close to a tank of saw gas each in approximately 40 minutes. When the Helispot was near completion the Helitack Crew called Ship 1 in to approve. Ship 1 decided H3 needed two more snags cut. As soon as they were felled the ship came in to load the Helitack Crew. Immediately behind them Ship 3 picked up the rappellers.
The Suwannee Democrat is reporting that a crop duster plane clipped three high-voltage power lines near McAlpin, Florida early Monday afternoon, starting a brush fire. Suwannee County Fire Chief Charlie Conner said the pilot landed the plane safely at a local airport.
Tanker 07, a P2, on the Whoopup fire, July 18, 2011. Photo by Bill Gabbert
The Missoulian has an article about the current and future state of the air tanker fleet. Here is an excerpt:
Fighting fire from the air will remain a major tactic for the U.S. Forest Service, and the skies could start to get crowded soon.
“We want to have more than 11, but probably less than 44 large air tankers,” U.S. Forest Service national fire director Tom Harbour said in a recent interview with the Missoulian. “I think ultimately we’ll have between two and three dozen large air tankers.”
Eleven multi-engine retardant bombers remain under contract with the Forest Service, down from a fleet of 44 in 2004. Missoula-based Neptune Aviation has nine of those tankers, while Minden Air of Arizona has the other two.
“We’re looking all around to see what aircraft there are out there,” Harbour said. “We’re not doing any research in particular aircraft (within the Forest Service), but we’re interested in all designs. There are lots out there: old, new, big and little. And there are dozens of folks who have a particular platform they want to try. Neptune’s just been the first to take our criteria and put a plane in service.”
That would be Neptune’s new BAe-146 jet tanker, which won a short-term firefighting contract in September. The plane is the *first new model in nearly three decades to be certified for forest fire work. It is currently fighting fires in Texas.
Assuming the BAe passes additional field testing during the interim contract period, Neptune officials said they plan to phase in as many as 11 more jets as market conditions dictate.
Neptune CEO Kristen Nicholarsen said she’s heard of three or four companies developing retardant-dropping planes in pursuit of Forest Service contracts.
*Actually, the DC-10 and the 747 are aircraft models that are new to the air tanker fleet that have been certified by the Interagency Air Tanker Board in recent years.
Scott Steen, the CEO of American Forests, has written an editorial for The Hill, in which his focus is on how the United States should invest in forest health and in strategies to decrease the risk of future fires. Here is an excerpt:
…”First, Congress must approve the recommended $413 million for funding of the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement (FLAME) Act. This act sets aside specific funds for directly fighting fires — from the wages of the firefighters to the cost of planes and equipment. Every year since 2000, firefighting expenses have exceeded $1 billion a year, so FLAME’s budget is essential to protecting our homes and communities. Even the best fire prevention plans are not going to make wildfires go away overnight.
Next, $110 million is needed for State Fire Assistance, which is partially funded through the Forest Service’s wildfire accounts and partially through their cooperative programs with states. This federal program helps communities prepare Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) to reduce hazardous fuels and other wildfire threats in their local communities. Removing hazardous fuels is a key component of fire prevention. The greater the fuel load, the more intense the fire. Through CWPPs, communities are able to identify sites and methods for fuel reduction to protect their most at-risk areas, expediting federal aid to these areas. Federal support of CWPPs ensures consistency across county lines and within forests. By funding fire prevention, the budgetary needs for firefighting will decrease in the coming years, saving Americans millions of dollars.
Science has proven that fires can be a normal, healthy part of forest ecosystems — returning nutrients to the soil and removing disease-ridden plants and harmful insects. But too many years of suppression and hands-off management have made our public lands overgrown, leading to hotter, larger and more destructive fires.
Wildfires cost lives, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to property, crops and livestock, not to mention the destruction of wildlife and ecosystems. We can no longer simply react to the problem, but must work harder to prevent it. And to do that, Congress needs to monetarily support both firefighting and fire prevention efforts.”
The sculptures in the above photos are made of tens of thousands of Crayola crayons that artist Herb Williams made to represent flames, intended to draw attention to the wildfires that have devastated some areas in Texas. The sculptures are supposed to melt under the hot Texas sun, changing their shapes at their installation at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. More photos are at their Facebook page (which was the source for these photos).
