The Klamath National Forest is also testing oil-resistant gloves
Igniting piles with propane. Klamath NF photo.
In an effort to reduce their employees’ to exposure hazardous materials the Klamath National Forest is igniting piles with a propane torch, rather than a drip torch with a diesel/gasoline mixture. Their torch may be similar to this one.
For when they must use drip torch fuel, fire personnel on the Forest are also testing oil-resistant gloves used by oil field workers. We found Endura WaterStop/Oilbloc goat leather gloves on Amazon that are lined with Kevlar, which could be an added benefit for firefighters.
Oil resistant gloves. Klamath NF photo.
I have never used a propane torch for igniting piles or for broadcast burning. Anyone have experience with this? Or the oil-resistant gloves?
They are also using heavy equipment to help contain bushfires
Screenshot from the ADF video below
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has established at least one mobile kitchen to feed personnel involved in providing assistance at bushfires.
Here is the official description of the video, which is below:
“The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is continuing support to State and Territory agencies and local communities under Operation Bushfire Assist 19-20. Three Joint Task Forces have been established to facilitate ADF support to emergency services in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The ADF is working alongside government and civilian agencies at all levels in support of the firefighting, relief and recovery effort by providing humanitarian, transport and other assistance such as aviation, route clearance, logistics, veterinary assistance, health services, engineering support, and accommodation.”
They are also using heavy equipment to help contain bushfires.
#YourADF has established fire breaks near South Canberra in accordance with @ACT_ESA’s intent to prepare & defend against the Orroral Valley Fire. In NSW, 24km of tracks have been cleared within Bago State Forest & road clearance continues around Colo Heights. #OpBushfireAssistpic.twitter.com/Z7PsgXV8ST
Some Australian firefighters are urging the PM not to call for a Royal Commission
Photo of smoke from bushfires, by Merrin Macleod on a flight from Canberra to Melbourne, posted January 4, 2020.
Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, wants to establish a Royal Commission to evaluate the country’s response to the unprecedented number of bushfires that have plagued the eastern part of the continent since September.
The union believes there should be instead, an audit all of the existing recommendations that haven’t been implemented. They said Royal Commissions are expensive, can take hundreds of days, force witnesses to relive the trauma, and the commission has no binding power to implement recommendations.
Below is an excerpt from The Australian published January 28, 2020:
In a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday that would otherwise have been expected to outline the government’s agenda for the year, Mr Morrison will focus on the government’s longer-term response to the devastating bushfire season and the future national emergency response plan.
The speech will not include new announcements on climate change policy but will pitch his message to middle Australia by focusing on practical measures.
It will recognize climate change and broader environmental issues as threats to people’s livelihoods.
Natural disaster response and climate resilience will now feature as key planks of the Coalition’s broader approach to national and economic security.
While responses to natural disasters are already an issue for cabinet’s national security committee, Mr Morrison is expected to say they will now have greater emphasis.
He will say that findings from previous inquiries into natural disasters have been “forgotten and prioritized over time”.
“One of the first tasks of a royal commission will be to audit the implementation of previous recommendations, drawing on work that has already been done in this area,” Mr Morrison will say. “As the years pass, the bush grows back and fuel loads increase, people move in still larger numbers to live in fire-prone areas and dangerous fires occur again in a cycle which must be broken.
“We must continue to learn from this fire season so we are better prepared for the next one, whether that be the deployment of the ADF, local hazard reduction, access to resources such as aerial firefighting equipment, consistency of disaster recovery arrangements or resilience in the face of a changing climate.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that residents of NSW Sara Haslinger and Michelle Wright both said if the commission is created one of the issues to be looked at is why Prime Minister Scott Morrison failed to meet with the fire chiefs who were warning months ago that the firefighting resources available were not adequate to deal with the bushfire season that was developing. Paul Preston of Victoria said he would like to see the military activated sooner next time.
The Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center has issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for February through May. The data represents the cumulative forecasts of the ten Geographic Area Predictive Services Units and the National Predictive Services Unit.
If NIFC’s analysis is correct the only area with above average potential for wildfires during February and March will be Hawaii. However the southern coastal area of California is expected to see above average wildfire potential in April and May.
Below:
An excerpt from the NIFC narrative report for the next several months;
More of NIFC’s monthly graphical outlooks;
NOAA’s three-month temperature and precipitation forecasts;
Drought Monitor;
Keetch-Byram Drought Index.
Here is an excerpt from a portion of the report that discusses the possibility of increasing fire potential in southern California in April and May.
“Due to a ridge replacing the trough, the weather has turned very dry since the start of 2020. Precipitation during the past 30 days has been, on average, 30-50% of normal across the Geographic Area. Some places in Southern CA are closer to the 10-25% range in comparison to normal since January 1st . Temperatures have been slightly above normal, especially near the coast, but offshore wind events have been infrequent and of light intensity.
“The drier weather coinciding with what is normally the wettest time of the year is concerning regarding the long term curing and drying cycle of seasonal grasses and other fine fuel types. Long range models are all depicting drier than normal conditions during the February through April timeframe, but some ensemble members point toward a wetter period returning in March. This may be too late to forestall an earlier than normal curing of grasses as subsoil moisture in the first few inches of topsoil will likely be depleted by then. Therefore, we are expecting large fire potential to climb to Above Normal levels due to an early onset of springtime “grassfire season.” Heavier, dead fuels may become involved by the time warmer temperatures arrive in May. Long range models also point toward a warmer than average temperature regime through May which may compound the problem.
“Resource demand will likely increase rapidly across Southern California by the end of March or in April. From there, large fire potential may climb to Above Average across central portions of the state by the late spring or early summer months. At this time, offshore wind events are expected to occur at a near normal rate, but even a quiet offshore pattern may not alleviate the effects of a dry late winter and spring.”
Temperature and precipitation outlook for February, March, and April, 2020. NOAA.Drought Monitor
File photo of a Royal Australian Navy NHI MRH-90 Helicopter. Photo by Duan Zhu.
Several bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have kept firefighters busy in recent days. The Department of Defense admitted that one of them two weeks ago was caused by heat from a landing light on an MRH-90 Helicopter. It burned within a kilometer of Tharwa, a suburb south of Canberra.
From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
“The fire started during routine aerial reconnaissance and ground clearance work being conducted in the area in support of our local firefighters and authorities,” Emergency Services Minister Mick Gentleman said on behalf of the Department of Defense.
Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said the helicopter was using the lights to help it land in smoky conditions, but the heat set a fire that grew rapidly and damaged the aircraft. He said defense was investigating the issue but operating procedures would be changed so that the landing lights were not used in extreme conditions.
It is reportedly the first time a fire has been started by a helicopter landing light.
Smoke from another fire in the ACT that shut down the Canberra Airport for a while was caused by beekeepers checking hives. The fire started January 22 and for several hours threatened homes and businesses.
From the ABC:
The Beard fire jumped the Molonglo River on Thursday and came close to the suburbs of Beard, Harman and Oaks Estate. It also merged with a second fire on Kallaroo Road, which began in the same suburb of Pialligo earlier in the day.
The combined fire reached 424 hectares in size and was at emergency alert level for much of the afternoon, but by 9:00pm was down to 379 hectares.
The hives are part of a national honey bee surveillance program that regularly checks for the arrival of exotic pests that might threaten Australia’s bee population.That process uses smokers to calm the bees so the hives can be inspected, which requires lighting fuels to generate the smoke. The hives are maintained on behalf of the ACT Government by Canberra Region Beekeepers — the program is usually run through state agriculture departments in other jurisdictions.
Air tankers based in Richmond, New South Wales have been busy recently. Between January 26 and 31 a DC-10, Tanker 911, flew 22 missions, while T-137, a 737, flew 12. Their destinations were in or near the ACT and in southern NSW.
Tanker 131, a C-130Q based in Avalon, Victoria completed several missions north of Melbourne and along the Victoria/NSW border.
Flying low and slow in a single-engine helicopter while igniting fire below the aircraft is obviously very, very dangerous.
Map showing heat in the Sam Houston National Forest detected by a satellite at 2:38 p.m. CDT March 27, 2019. The heat may have been produced by a prescribed fire.
On March 27, 2019, about 1435 central daylight time, an Airbus AS350B3 helicopter, N818MC, was substantially damaged when it collided with trees and terrain following a loss of engine power near Montgomery, Texas. The commercial rated pilot was seriously injured, one Forest Service crew member was fatally injured, and another crew member sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was owned by Mountain Air Helicopters, Inc and operated by the United States Forest Service (USFS) as a public use helicopter. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which operated without a flight plan.
The helicopter and crew were conducting plastic sphere dispenser (PSD) applications in support of controlled fire operations in an area of the Sam Houston National Forest. Initial information provided by the pilot and surviving crew member report that after completing the application, the helicopter began flying back to the helicopter’s staging area when the engine lost complete power. The helicopter descended into trees and subsequently impacted terrain, coming to rest on its right side. One crew member and the pilot were able to exit the helicopter, however one of the crew members was partially ejected from the helicopter and sustained fatal injuries.
One of the firefighters was deceased on scene. The pilot and a second firefighter were transported to a hospital after rescuers extricated them from the wreckage using jaws and air bags.
The March 27, 2019 incident in Texas. Photo by Sgt. Erik Burse/Texas Department of Public Safety.
It could be another six months or so before the final report is released.
The prescribed fire was in the Sam Houston National Forest about 30 miles southeast of College Station, Texas south of Highway 149.
Flying low and slow in a single-engine helicopter while igniting fire below the aircraft is obviously very, very dangerous. These three fatalities offer very compelling justification for using drones for aerial ignition instead of manned aircraft.
The helicopter involved in the March 30, 2015 incident in Mississippi, N50KH, is shown with doors removed and Pilot and PSD operator positions visible.
Analysis
The purpose of the flight was to assist in the scheduled burn of an 800-acre wooded area. The helicopter was under contract with the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service. A Forest Service employee reported that, as the helicopter neared the conclusion of a 61-minute controlled burn mission, he observed it complete a turn to a northerly heading at the southwestern end of the burn area. About 7 seconds later, he heard a sound that resembled an air hose being unplugged from a pressurized air tank. A crewmember, who was the sole survivor, reported that the helicopter was about 20 ft above the tree canopy when the pilot announced that the helicopter had lost power. The helicopter then descended into a group of 80-ft-tall trees in a nose-high attitude and impacted terrain. Witnesses participating in the controlled burn at the time of the accident did not observe any other anomalies with the helicopter before the accident.
The fuel system, fuel pump, and fuel control unit were destroyed by fire, which precluded a complete examination. During the engine examination, light rotational scoring was found in the turbine assembly, consistent with light rotation at impact; however, neither the turbine rotation speed nor the amount of engine power at the time of the accident could be determined. The rotor blade damage and drive shaft rotation signatures indicated that the rotor blades were not under power at the time of the accident. An examination of the helicopter’s air tubes revealed that they were impact-damaged; however, they appeared to be secure and properly seated at their fore and aft ends.
On the morning of the accident flight, the helicopter departed on a reconnaissance flight with 600 lbs of JP-5 fuel. The helicopter returned with sufficient fuel for about 133 minutes of flight, and the helicopter was subsequently serviced with an unknown quantity of uncontaminated fuel for the subsequent 60-minute accident flight. Based on the density altitude, temperature, and airplane total weight at the time of the accident, the helicopter was operating within the airplane flight manual’s performance limitations.
Most of the cockpit control assemblies were consumed by fire except for the throttle, which was found in the “idle” position. Given the crewmember’s report that, after the engine failure, the helicopter entered and maintained a nose-high attitude until it impacted trees and then the ground, it is likely that the pilot initiated an autorotation in accordance with the Pilot’s Operating Handbook engine failure and autorotation procedures. A review of the pilot’s records revealed that he passed the autorotation emergency procedure portion of his most recent Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 examination, which occurred 1 month before the accident, and this may have aided in his recognition of the engine failure and decision to initiate an emergency descent.
Although a weather study indicated that smoke and particulates were present in the area before, during, and after the accident, witnesses reported an absence of smoke near the area where the helicopter lost power and impacted the ground.
Probable Cause and Findings
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
A loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined due to postaccident fire damage.
