Kansas Forest Service reports that the largest blaze burned about 365,000 acres
Continue readingMany of the new and retrofitted firefighting helicopters are Firehawks
(This article was first published at FireAviation)
New Los Angeles County FD Firehawks. Photo by LA County FD. March, 2018. At that time it still needed to swap out the landing gear and have the belly tank installed.Firehawk helicopters are becoming more popular across the wildland fire services, especially in California.
A rather loose definition of a Firehawk is a Blackhawk, a Sikorsky UH-60 or S-70i, usually with an aftermarket 1,000-gallon external water tank for fighting fires, and a suction hose for refilling while hovering.
The earliest Firehawk that we are aware of was used in 1998 when Los Angeles County leased one with a belly tank from Sikorsky for about four months. (I’m sure someone will correct me if there’s an earlier occurrence.) Since then many of the newly acquired firefighting helicopters have been, or will be, Firehawks. CAL FIRE has signed contracts and expects to have 12 brand new converted S-70i ships within three years. Their first fully modified aircraft should arrive in June. Other examples of Firehawks include — Los Angeles County’s five (not all are fully modified yet), San Diego Fire Rescue has a one (but it is not yet fully modified), Ventura County has started converting three HH-60L Blackhawks into Firehawks, and Coulson is partnering with Unical to convert about 10 UH-60 Blackhawks. There are also other companies that have various configurations of Blackhawks with tanks.
As far as I know most of the above ships will have external water tanks, which require installing a longer landing gear to raise the ship, making room for the belly tank. Coulson, on the other hand, is installing a version of their removable RADS tank internally, and at least one company, Simplex, for example, has built another version of a removable internal tank. The company had it on display last year in Sacramento and at HAI Heli-Expo in Atlanta today.
Simplex internal Blackhawk tank.Seen at HAI Heli-Expo in Atlanta, March 5, 2019.
Seen at HAI Heli-Expo in Atlanta, March 5, 2019.For the record, Sikorsky, the company that manufactures Blackhawks, does not support the use of an internal water tank in the ships. They are not worried about the floor being able to hold it, but are concerned that in the event of a hard landing the tank, especially when full, could pose a danger to the crew. A belly tank, their theory contends, would not threaten the crew as a projectile, but could crush under the aircraft, absorbing some of the energy — not unlike the crumple zone in the front of a well designed automobile.
Santa Barbara County FD plans to purchase a used Blackhawk helicopter
They hope to acquire it from the National Guard
Continue readingChilson Fire burns several dozen acres in Black Hills
Above: A South Dakota National Guard Blackhawk helicopter makes a water drop on the Chilson Fire, July 24, 2017.
(Originally published at 4:50 p.m. MDT July 24, 2017)
The Chilson Fire has burned approximately 40 acres in the Black Hills of South Dakota, halfway between Edgemont and Hot Springs south of Highway 18 and one mile southeast of Old Highway 18.
At 3 p.m. on Monday firefighters appeared to have the spread stopped, thanks to efforts by 4 engines, 3 hand crews, 3 helicopters (1 contracted Type 3 and 2 National Guard Blackhawks), and 1 single engine air tanker.
Since the Northern Great Plains received 28,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes on July 21 and 22, firefighters in the Black Hills have responded to around 20 fires. Most were suppressed at less than an acre, but four others burned 8, 10, and 36 acres; and this one, the Chilson Fire, that is estimated at 40 acres.
Very dry autumn brings numerous wildfires to the southeast
Currently there are 38 fires in the south that have each burned at least 100 acres.
Continue readingAerial firefighting on the Black Forest Fire
The military has been supplying numerous photos and some videos of their firefighting activities on the Black Forest Fire. Helicopters from the Colorado National Guard and Fort Carson as well as C-130 MAFFS air tankers are assisting firefighters on the ground. Here are seven photos of aircraft taken on June 12 by military personnel. The DC-10 is not military, but is working under a contract with the U. S. Forest Service.
More lightning fires in Arkansas
More than 1,000 wildfires burned this year in Arkansas, according to KAIT8 news, and many were human-caused. But lightning’s rising on the list of causes for fires in the state. State Forester Joe Fox said that 15 percent of Arkansas fires are usually caused by lightning — and some years it’s under 3 percent. But according to Fox, lightning has caused more than half the fires in the last two months.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission yesterday activated military Blackhawks for fire suppression in the state.