Martin Mars drops on a fire near Skutz Falls, Vancouver Island

(Originally published at 8:52 a.m. PT, July 29, 2015)

Martin Mars on Skutz Falls Fire
Martin Mars on Skutz Falls Fire. Screen shot from video by Jody Kerrone.

This image of the Martin Mars dropping on a fire near Skutz Falls on Vancouver Island yesterday is a screen shot from a video by Jody Kerrone. We are unable to embed the video here, but you can see it on the Wildfire Today Facebook page.

The Martin Mars was preceded by a jet-powered lead plane, or Bird Dog as they are called in Canada.

The British Columbia Wildfire Service reports that the fire is 10 hectares (25 acres). Two helicopters were also working on the fire.

As far as we know, this is the second fire the Martin Mars has dropped on in the last couple of weeks.

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(UPDATE at 1:46 p.m. PT, July 29, 2015)

Wednesday afternoon Coulson Flying Tankers released the following information about the mission:

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“Last night the Mars made a total of six drops on the fire at Skutz Falls. The drops averaged 21,600 litres [5,706 gallons] per drop for a total of 130,000 litres [34,342 gallons] in approximately 1.5 hrs, beginning with the first scoop at 7:30 p.m.

The turn times averaged 15 minutes per drop which was excellent with some 8 minutes drop cycles. As there were other aircraft working on the fire we had to allow them the time to get clear prior to each drop. It was an example of great teamwork, working in tandem with the other aircraft.

The current fuel load allows the Mars to stay airborne for approximately 6 hours prior to refueling. With this much fuel on board at the beginning of the scooping cycles we have to scoop a few smaller loads until we burn enough fuel to get up to maximum load capacity.

Every aircraft is the same with regard to maximum fuel load. All aircraft have to balance the amount of fuel on board and take into account the outside air temperature as well as working altitude and then factor in the load capabilities. However for the most part smaller aircraft carry only enough fuel for a maximum of 3 hours.”

Westside Road Fire near Kelowna forces evacuations

(UPDATED at 6:48 p.m. PT, July 21, 2015)

Westside Road Fire 7-21-2015
Westside Road Fire, July 21, 2015. Photo by British Columbia Wildfire Service.

The British Columbia Wildfire Service reported at 3:02 p.m. on Tuesday that the Westside Road fire northwest of Kelowna has grown to 430 hectares (1,062 acres).

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(Originally published at 12:06 p.m. PT, July 21, 2015; UPDATED at 1:28 p.m. PT, July 21, 2015)

Westside Road Fire
Westside Road Fire, July 21, 2015, as seen form the Arrowleaf Cellars vineyard. Photo by Wicked Wine Tours.

The Westside Road Fire on the west side of Okanagan Lake northwest of Kelowna, B.C. has forced the evacuation of approximately 70 homes as of

map West Side Rd Fire
The red and brown squares represent the location of the West Side Rd Fire at 12:45 p.m. July 21, 2015.

Tuesday at 8 a.m. The fire became more active on Monday, growing to 300 hectares (741 acres).

Overnight on Monday crews were able to prevent any loss of structures in the Shelter Cove area, in spite of downslope winds and aggressive fire behavior. Firefighters are working to protect power poles and extinguish spot fires in the subdivision.

The fire is currently burning at Rank 4 (highly vigorous surface fire, torching or passive crown fire).

Tuesday morning 23 firefighters were assigned to the fire. They expect to receive help later in the day from two helicopters, two 20-person crews, and water-scooping air tankers. (UPDATE from the BCWS at 1:16 p.m. on Tuesday: there are currently 19 firefighters and 4 air tankers on scene. There is no word about additional fire resources en route.)

In July of 2009 two fires broke out on the west side of Okanagan Lake that required the evacuation of 12,500 people. (Map of the location of the fires.)

Now near West Kelowna. Aggressive #wildfire RT @CUrquhartGlobal: Fire fighters rush to save house @GlobalBC @bc1 pic.twitter.com/2sJUt3ff6E

Five more 20-person crews from the U.S. sent to assist Canadian firefighters

Five additional federal wildland fire suppression crews traveled to Alberta, Canada this past weekend to further assist the province with fire suppression operations. Previously, five federal fire crews, as well as thirty fireline management personnel, traveled to the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan the weekend before.

The 20-person crews were mobilized through the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, Idaho under a federal agreement with Canada. They came from the states of Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, and Utah. In addition to personnel, the National Interagency Coordination Center has sent 300 radios to support operations in British Columbia. The air tanker that was sent to Alberta on July 5 returned to the United States last week.

The states of Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, through interstate forest fire compacts, are also providing wildland firefighting personnel to support the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Canada is experiencing an busier than normal fire season; fires in the four provinces receiving assistance have burned more than six million acres this year. For more information on Canada’s current fire situation, visit www.ciffc.ca.

Martin Mars completes first mission on BCWS contract

Martin Mars after July 18 mission
Martin Mars on Sproat Lake after a July 18, 2015 mission. Coulson Photo.

On Saturday, July 18, the Martin Mars flying boat completed its first mission under their new 30-day contract with the British Columbia Wildfire Service. According to Coulson Flying Tankers, the owner of the water-scooping air tanker that can hold up to 7,200 gallons, the aircraft flew a total of 8 hours. Of that, 4 was spent ferrying across the province and back, and the other 4 was used to drop 9 loads of water for a total of 52,800 gallons. They did it without having to land and refuel.

Coulson said the aircraft dropped 158,503 gallons in one day on fires near Lake Shasta in northern California in 2008. In the late 1970s, according to the Coulson company, the Hawaii Mars dropped 200,000 gallons in one day.

Martin Mars gets 30-day contract

Martin Mars test
A Martin Mars test water drop over Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island, B.C., July 10, 2015. Coulson photo.

The Martin Mars 7,200-gallon flying boat air tanker has received a 30-day contract with the government of British Columbia. It was serviceable on Sunday, July 12 but since then has not been dispatched to any fires.

CKNW AM radio is reporting that the contract specifies a daily availability rate of $15,000 and a flight hour rate of $6,000. The average rates for the 14 large air tankers that the U.S. currently has under exclusive use contracts are a daily rate of $22,901 and $8,408 for each flight hour. Of those 14 air tankers, 13 of them can carry up to 2,000 to 4,000 gallons, and the DC-10 holds 11,600 gallons.

On their Facebook page, Coulson Flying Tankers, the company that owns the two Martin Mars air tankers, explained how this 30-day firefighting contract will affect their previous plans to train pilots from China who will be flying a new amphibious aircraft now being built:

…Coulson has a contract with International Test Pilot School (ITPS) from Ontario, Canada dating back to October of 2014. The contract is for Chinese Test Pilots to familiarize themselves with the largest float plane in the world.

The Chinese government currently has under construction the second largest seaplane in the world called a TA 600, which these pilots will be flying.

The original contract was between July 20 to July 30, but a modified contract is now in place where the aircraft will train the test pilots between July 20-26.

Coulson has also negotiated with ITPS the condition that the Mars must stay on call to the BCFS and a procedure has been worked out to remove flight crew being trained so the Mars can go to a fire if called.

We appreciate both the flexibility of ITPS and the BCFS to work out a solution to accomplish the goal of servicing both customers.

Tanker 260 at Whitehorse

Air Tanker 260 at Whitehorse
T-260 at Whitehorse, YT. Photo by D. Cote, Yukon Wildland Fire Management.

Doug Cote with Yukon Wildland Fire Management sent us this photo of Tanker 260, a CL-415. It was taken today, July 16, at Whitehorse International Airport, Yukon Territory (map). (I fixed the date on the photo.)

T-260 has been fighting fires in Alaska for several weeks. We’re thinking it stopped for fuel at Whitehorse on the way home.

The still almost new aircraft fought its first fire in May, 2014 in Oklahoma.

Massive smoke columns over the Coal River Fire

Coal River Fire, Yukon
Coal River Fire, Yukon, Canada, July 7, 2015. Photo by D. Cote, Yukon Wildland Fire Management.

Doug Cote with Yukon Wildland Fire Management sent us this photo of smoke columns over the Coal River Fire in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Describing the photo, he said:

Attached is a photo from last week of a 5,000 ha (12,000 acre) burn-off on the Coal River fire in SE Yukon. In the foreground is our ignition backing to the guard. In the background is the natural fire ripping through a ten year old burn. It made a 15 km (9.5 mile) run that day under 100% cloud cover. Pretty impressive.

Yes, it is very impressive.

Be prepared for fires and other emergencies

Firesmart wildfire

Our friends at Prepared BC in British Columbia put together this graphic about about preparing your home to resist a wildfire.

And, when disaster hits, there may not be time to collect emergency supplies. Ensure you have grab-and-go kits for your home, office and vehicle. They should all contain water and supplies for a minimum of 72 hours.

Earthquake Tsunami Kit

Wildfire briefing, July 15, 2015

Saskatchewan Premier wants a national fire cache and a fire mapping plane

The Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, wants the national government to establish a national cache of firefighting supplies and equipment that could be distributed when a province, or provinces, have multiple large fires ongoing. Perhaps he is thinking of a system similar to the one used in the United States, which has a national cache in Boise at the National Interagency Coordination Center.

“Some of those basic things that we would normally just call Manitoba or B.C. and say, ‘We need these things,’ well they were all fighting fires,” Mr. Wall said Wednesday. “Why, as a country, wouldn’t we have a cache? A national store to draw from if there is an occasion again where so many provinces are involved in fighting major fires?”

Mr. Wall also would like the see Canada acquire and operate a fire mapping plane that would use infrared detection equipment to see through smoke to map the perimeters and intensely burning areas of wildfires.

“If we could have at least one of those available nationally to provinces, because when it’s smokey, you have this whole flight … that’s grounded, and you might lose a little bit of ground that you might otherwise gain in better weather,” Wall said.

Wall will raise the idea at the premiers meeting in St. John’s, where he was heading on Wednesday.

Another drone shuts down aerial firefighting equipment

Sunday afternoon firefighting air tankers had to cease their operations on a fire near Yucaipa, California for about eight minutes when a drone was spotted over the fire.

Firefighting soldier takes bathroom break, gets lost for six hours

One of the 600 soldiers helping to suppress wildfires in Saskatchewan took a break to relieve himself Monday and didn’t return. His absence was noticed at 2 p.m. and a search began.

Below is an excerpt from an article at CBC.ca:

“I am happy to report, he is uninjured except for his pride, and many lessons, a number of lessons to be learned about this,” Brig.-Gen. Wayne Eyre said.

The Canadian Army said the soldier, one of some 600 from the Prairies deployed in the forest fire zone, had walked into the forest to relieve himself in privacy and got lost.

When others noticed he was missing at around 2:20 p.m. CST, a massive search began, involving soldiers, the Wildfire Management Centre, the RCMP, Canadian Rangers and other agencies.

The search virtually shut down firefighting in the area yesterday afternoon.

Eyre acknowledges that there should have been a buddy system in place, and the soldier, described as experienced, should have stayed in one spot.

Around 8:30 p.m., he was found.

102 Australian fire personnel assisting with wildfires in Canada

Aussie firefighters in Canada
Australian fire personnel gather at the airport before departing to assist Canada with their wildfires.

Country Fire Authority members in Australia were among 42 Victorian emergency management personnel who left recently for Canada to help fight the worsening wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta.

They’re part of a 102-strong Australian contingent organized by State Control Centre – Emergency Management Victoria who will spend the next 6 weeks filling specialist leader roles in operations, planning, air attack and incident control.