Wildfire Today

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Wildfire Today

Tag: air tanker

Firefighters injured by air tanker drop

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 5 Comments on Firefighters injured by air tanker drop

CAL FIRE has released a preliminary report about two firefighters being treated at a hospital after being hit by an air tanker drop on the Buck fire in Riverside County, August 14, 2012. Here is the text from their “Blue Sheet”:

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SYNOPSIS

The following is a Preliminary Summary Report of an incident that occurred due to an air tanker drop on a wildland fire incident, resulting in minor injuries to two crewmembers.

NARRATIVE

While assigned to perimeter control / structure defense in the initial attack phase of an extended attack fire, a CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department type III fire engine and two of the three crewmembers, were struck by retardant dropped from a CAL FIRE air tanker. At the time of incident, the crewmembers were scouting on foot to determine the best access to their assignment. As they turned to walk back to the engine, the Fire Apparatus Engineer and one Firefighter were struck from behind and knocked to the ground by the force of the retardant released by a passing air tanker. The Crewmembers involved did not see or hear the air tanker until moments prior to impact.

The Fire Apparatus Engineer and both firefighters regrouped and engaged in the assignment. Approximately one hour later, the Fire Apparatus Engineer noticed the involved Firefighter appeared disoriented and his face appeared swollen. The Fire Apparatus Engineer requested and received medical assistance. Upon evaluation, the Paramedic Engine Company assigned to the Division made the decision to transport via ambulance both the Fire Apparatus Engineer and the Firefighter to the hospital for further evaluation. Both were treated and released within hours of the incident.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE REVIEW

• All personnel will maintain Situational Awareness at all times – “Look Up, Look Down, and Look All Around!”

• Communication and Coordination is imperative between ground and air resources to ensure safe tactics and minimize potential injuries. Per CAL FIRE Handbook 7015.3, important frequencies must be scanned and monitored by all resources. Scan only frequencies that are necessary to the assignment. Monitor important frequencies constantly

• Air Tanker Pilots and ATGS Personnel should review CAL FIRE Handbook 8364.6.3 “Retardant (or other suppressant) releases will be made at a high enough altitude where all forward motion of the fluid stops prior to impact with the ground. In no case will retardant be dropped lower than 150 feet above the top of vegetation.”

• Personnel should review CAL FIRE Handbook Section 4306.18 – “How to assume the safe position for an Air Tanker Retardant Drop.

Wildfire news, August 18, 2012

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , 6 Comments on Wildfire news, August 18, 2012

Followup on the fatality of Anne Veseth

The Associated Press has an article that provides more information about Anne Veseth, the firefighter that was killed by a falling snag on Sunday, August 12.

“Her cards were up,” said mother Claire Veseth, 55, a nurse in this college town. “It was an act of God.”

Los Angeles City FD adds another helicopter to its fleet

The Los Angeles City Fire Department is leasing an Erickson Air Crane for four months. This baby has a forward-pointing water cannon designed for high-rise fires. It can fill its tank two different ways, by the usual hover-and-draft  mode, or by lowering a pipe and scooping water as it flies at speed over a large water source.

 

42 uncontained large fires in the US

After having 70 uncontained large fires in the country on Wednesday, that number is now down to 40. The number of incident management teams committed, including Type 1, Type 2, NIMO, and Area Command, has declined from 31 to 28. Six military MAFFS C-130s are still actively working out of Boise and Sacramento.

Smoke from wildfires

The smoke map shows dense smoke in Idaho and also an interesting area of dense smoke over the Atlantic east of Maine.

Wildfire smoke map, 6:36 p.m. MT, August 18, 2012
Wildfire smoke map, 6:36 p.m. MT, August 18, 2012. NOAA (click to enlarge)

USFS issues RFI for Very Large Air Tankers

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a Request for Information which could lead to Call When Needed contracts for Very Large Air Tankers beginning next year continuing through 2015. 10 Tanker Air Carrier currently has a CWN contract for their two DC-10s, but it remains to be seen if any company with VLATs can succeed financially if they are only used for 60 to 100 hours each year, with no guarantees of ANY income. Evergreen in the past has not been interested in signing up their 20,000-gallon 747 Super Tanker on a CWN contract. The RFI specifies that the aircraft must be able to hold at least 10,000 gallons. The USFS expects to issue a Request for Proposals later in the year which they think could lead to one to three VLATs under CWN contracts in 2013. Or… it could lead to none.

USFS to use one night-flying helicopter next year

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 5 Comments on USFS to use one night-flying helicopter next year
Water drop on Eagle fire
A helicopter drops water on the Eagle fire in southern California, July 27, 2011. Photo by Lone Ranger.

The U.S. Forest Service has reversed course and decided to contract for one firefighting helicopter that can fly at night, becoming mission-capable in 2013. The helicopter, which will be based in southern California, will support wildfire suppression on Forest Service-protected lands within and adjacent to the Angeles, Cleveland, and San Bernardino National Forests, and the southern half of the Los Padres National Forest.

It has been years since the USFS had that capability. In 1977 a USFS helicopter and a Los Angeles county helicopter operating at night collided, killing one pilot and injuring another. Sometime after that the USFS abandoned night flying.

The USFS was criticized for attacking the 2009 Station fire near Los Angeles on the first night and the morning of the second day with strategy and tactics that were less than aggressive. The fire was three to four acres at 7 a.m. on the second day, but no air tankers or helicopters were used the first night or until later in the morning on the second day. The fire took off at mid-morning on day two and later burned 160,000 acres and killed two firefighters. Night-flying helicopters operated by Los Angeles County were not used the first night on the fire.

After the Station fire several politicians became involved in the controversy and pressured the USFS to restore the capability to use helicopters at night to drop water. The agency said they have been studying the concept, again, and announced today that they would tip-toe back into night flying, with a single helicopter in 2013.

The USFS is the lead federal agency managing the fixed-wing air tanker program, which has withered away from the 44 exclusive use large air tankers we had in 2002 to the 9 we have today. Air tankers and helicopters do not put out fires, but under the right conditions they can slow the fire enough to allow ground-based firefighters the opportunity to suppress it.

In our opinion, the U.S. Forest Service’s Fire and Aviation Management program is not  aggressively attacking emerging fires, adapting to changing conditions, or effectively managing the aerial firefighting program. Some of this can be attributed to declining firefighting budgets that are requested by the administration, approved or modified by Congress, and signed by the President.

Tanker 910, a DC-10, assists firefighters on the Buck Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags
Tanker 910 dropping on Buck fire
Tanker 910 dropping on Buck fire. Still image from the ABC7 video.

The video below shows one of the two DC-10s, in this case Tanker 910, dropping on the Buck fire near Aguanga in southern California.

The Buck fire, near Sage Road between Lewis Valley Road and Buck Road, has burned 3,000 acres, destroyed 4 structures, and is 15 percent contained.

Resources on the fire include 50 engines, 13 hand crews, 11 air tankers, 7 helicopters, and 11 dozers.

More information on the Buck fire.

Another DC-10 video

Below is another video of a DC-10 dropping on a fire. This time it is from August 7 on the Lost Fire 20 Miles southeast of Eagleville, California. After the drop the camera pans over to see the BLM’s Folsom Lake Veteran’s Hand Crew as they clean up and hold a dozer line.

A couple of tips: after you click Play, then click on “Large Player” or “Full Screen” mode; and turn down the sound (there is a lot of wind noise on the microphone).

Idaho’s Minidoka Complex keeps scoopers busy

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Beth Lund’s Type 1 team members and local officials met last night with community members at Howells Opera House in Oakley to discuss the Minidoka Complex. The Times-News reported that fielded questions included a discussion of restoring burned grazing allotments and the timeframe for lifting imposed evacuations.

Lund said the team is optimistic they can contain the fires within a couple days. She said the recent rains will help with suppression efforts. The Cave Canyon Fire, the largest in the complex, has grown by more than 34,000 acres in a day. She said it’s made repeated downhill runs at night.

Scott Nannenga with the Minidoka Ranger District told ranchers that burned grazing allotments will be rested, but that the fire’s effects will have longterm benefits. Other area officials told the crowd that plans are under way for post-fire rehab.

Lund said decisions are pending for the dates that evacuated residents can return to their homes. “We don’t want to let you back and then have to take you back out again,” she said.

The team reported last night that evacuations and extreme fire runs have prompted their requests for critical resources.

CL-215 on a run over Goose Creek Reservoir southwest of Oakley early afternoon on 08/11/2012.
One of Aero-Flite’s CL-215s on a run over Goose Creek Reservoir southwest of Oakley early afternoon on 08/11/2012. Photo © 2012 Jack Belk

Reservoirs both north and south of the fire were evaluated and approved for scooping runs by CL-215 aircraft, but that the lack of other ordered resources has resulted in fire growth in all directions. Containment objectives have been compromised by the lack of a Type 3 high performance helicopter.

CL-215 over Goose Creek Reservoir
One of Aero-Flite’s CL-215s on a run over Goose Creek Reservoir southwest of Oakley early afternoon on 08/11/2012. Photo © 2012 Jack Belk

The fires on the complex have burned with high intensity and have been extremely active, with running and torching in the conifer portions of the fires. Flamelengths have gone to 50 feet in some fuel types, with short-range spotting in all fuel types. Roads and natural barriers, fire managers said, can’t be relied upon to check the fire’s spread. The Cave Canyon Fire last night was at 80,012 acres, the Deer Hollow Fire was at 4,027 acres, the Eight Mile Fire was at 211 acres, and the Hot Well Fire was estimated at 8,056 acres.

Four CL-215s on the ramp at Kalispell 08/10/2012
Four CL-215s (two owned by Aero-Flite and two from the State of Minnesota operated by Aero-Flite) on the ramp 08/10 at Great Falls, Montana. The two Minnesota scoopers were headed for Moses Lake, and the Aero-Flite pair were en route to the Minidoka Complex. Photo © 2012 Tony Duprey

Charlotte MAFFS return to the West

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

The North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing crews will return to firefighting missions in the West on Monday. They’re headed back to Idaho, nearly a month and a half after a tanker crash in South Dakota killed four of the unit’s members.

“We all feel it’s extremely important for our people to get back to this critical mission,” said Col. Roger Williams, 145th Airlift Wing Operations Group commander. “We will carry the memory of MAFFS 7 in our hearts as the wildland firefighting continues.”

Waldo Canyon Fire 06/27/12 ~ USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany D. Richards
Waldo Canyon Fire 06/27/12 ~ USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Stephany D. Richards

WBTV News reported that the 145th will send two aircraft and 16 airmen to Boise, where they’ll start duties on Tuesday. One aircraft is MAFFS-equipped and the other will transport equipment and personnel. MAFFS 7 was assigned to the White Draw Fire on July 1 when it crashed, killing four crew members and severely injuring two others.  The Charlotte unit decided to retire the tanker’s tail number; they will operate MAFFS 8 for the upcoming assignment, and one of the California MAFFS tankers will return to its base for maintenance.