Wildfire Today

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Wildfire Today

Tag: helicopter

Fatal accident during training at Backbone fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

The Backbone fire on the Klamath National Forest in northern California issued this news release about 45 minutes ago:

Fatal Accident During Routine Training At the Backbone Helibase

WILLOW CREEK, Calif.– During a routine training exercise an individual was involved in an accident Tuesday morning. A Helicopter and its crew, who are assigned to the Backbone Fire, was conducting weekly skill proficiency acceptance training and was involved in an accident that took an individuals life.

At 10:10 this morning while performing a proficiency skill acceptance training, at the Backbone Helibase in Willow Creek, an individual fell and incurred fatal injuries. The training is required to be conducted weekly to insure the crew’s safety and proficiency.

Information is limited at this time and all names of individuals involved are being with held until notifications to families have been made. We will be happy to provide information as soon as it is available.

The individual was provided medical attention immediately at the scene. The Base medical staff, the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office, and the Humboldt County Sherriff’s Office were dispatched and involved in the initial response.

Our sincere condolences to the family and co-workers.

More information about the Backbone fire, which is being managed by a National Incident Management Team (NIMO), can be found at Inciweb.

UPDATE @ 6:43 p.m. PT, July 21

The Backbone fire issued a second news release at about 5:45 p.m. PT today:

WILLOW CREEK, Calif.– Thomas Marovich, 20, of Hayward California incurred fatal injuries when falling while performing routine rappel proficiency skill training, at the Backbone Helibase in Willow Creek.

Marovich was a second year apprentice with the Forest Service at the Modoc National Forest, and was working with the Chester Helitack Crew from the Lassen National Forest which was assigned to the Backbone Fire at the time of the accident.

At 10:10 this morning Marovich fell and incurred fatal injuries while performing the required training which is conducted at a minimum every 14 days to insure the crew’s safety and skill proficiency.

The individual was provided advance life support treatment immediately at the scene. The Base medical staff, the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office, and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the response.

The Forest Service has mobilized an accident investigation team and is working with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Helicopter crash in northern California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,
Siskorsky S-61, photo: Croman Corporation

A Sikorsky S-61 Type 1 helicopter crashed on the Backbone fire on the Klamath National Forest on Friday July 17. Thankfully there were no serious injuries to the only people on board, the two pilots.

From the Mail Tribune:

A pilot was injured when a helicopter owned by Croman Corporation, of White City, crashed Friday afternoon while fighting the Backbone Fire on the Klamath National Forest in Northern California. A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said both the pilots on the aircraft walked away from the crash, and one was flown to Mercy Hospital in Redding, Calif., where he was treated and released. The pilots’ names were not available.

The aircraft was an S-61 military-style helicopter, the same kind that went down Aug. 5, 2008, near Junction City in California’s Trinity County, killing nine firefighters, six of whom were from Jackson and Josephine counties, from Merlin-based Grayback Forestry.

“They’re calling it a hard landing,” Forest Service spokesman Jim Mackensen said. “I’m calling it a crash.”

Mackensen said the aircraft came down hard and flipped on its side at 3:16 p.m. Friday while working at a heliwell, a plastic container that holds thousands of gallons of water for use in fighting forest fires far from good dipping sites in streams or lakes. Water had been hauled to the heliwell by trucks for the aircraft to pick up to attack the fire.

“He had just finished loading up,” Mackensen said. “It did roll over and beat itself up pretty bad. It’s not going to fly off the mountain.”

The site of the crash was a wooded part of Siskiyou County about six miles north of the community of Forks of the Salmon and about 12 miles northeast of Willow Creek. The fire had spread over about 6,300 acres as of Saturday morning. Mackensen it was 50 percent controlled.

Mackensen said an investigation team was on its way to the accident and would begin at once trying to determine what went wrong. He said he believed the pilots were Croman employees. Phone calls to Croman’s White City headquarters Saturday were not answered.

The Sikorsky helicopter in last year’s tragedy was owned by Carson Helicopters of Grants Pass. That 30-year-old aircraft was made in Connecticut and upgraded in 2003 and had been used in firefighting for 10 years. A Carson spokesman said it was the first fatal crash for his company in 50 years.

Changes in helicopter contracting and management

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Tom Harbour, the Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the U.S. Forest Service, sent a memo dated yesterday to the Regional Foresters. It covers some changes that will be made in the contracting and management of helicopters used on fires.

Usually initiatives like this are the result of a specific incident or accident. The federal fire agencies are more likely to enhance safety after fatalities occur rather than being proactive to prevent them. Of course the memo does not identify what precipitated these changes, but one has to wonder if the accident on August 8 last year that involved the Type 1 helicopter and the deaths of 9 firefighters on a fire in northern California had anything to do with it. As far as we know those accident reports, USFS and NTSB, have not been made public.

Date: July 7, 2009

To: Regional Foresters

This memo is to inform you of the operational safety enhancements in the Aviation program for 2009. The key actions are in progress and listed below:

  • Multiple contract changes are being made to the national helicopter contracts.
    • Aircraft will be weighed with FS maintenance inspectors present to verify weight submitted with contract bid.
    • More stringent standards for seating and restraint systems.
    • Contract scope now contains active safety management requirements.
    • A copy of the performance charts submitted for bid will be onboard each helicopter to allow the helicopter manager to verify the correct performance charts are being used.
    • Increased number of vendor training pilots will be allowed to accompany less experienced pilots during incident operations to provide tactical training and increased oversight.
  • Contract compliance inspection teams will be dispatched during field operations.The Department of the Interior Aviation Management Directorate is a partner in this initiative and will enhance capability and the number of teams that can be deployed.
  • As helicopters are activated for early use, compliance teams will be dispatched to conduct spot inspections and weight verification.
  • Performance planning charts for all contract helicopters will be available via the web to allow helicopter managers to ensure the accuracy of load calculation allowable payloads.
  • Continue to utilize more Exclusive Use (EU) helicopters and minimize use of Call-When-Needed aircraft.EU helicopter managers are generally better trained and more experienced and provide safer and more efficient operations.
  • Independent contractors will be hired to develop an Operational Risk Management (ORM) risk/benefit analysis process.
  • A formal risk assessment of Type I helicopter passenger transport has been completed by a professional aviation safety consultant. Assessments of Type 2 and 3 operations are planned.
  • Formal program reviews for the seven national Type 2 helicopters will be completed this season.

Regional Foresters

These items are critical for the continued safety and success of our aviation program and are underway. If you have any questions please contact Karyn Wood, Assistant Director for Operations.

(signed by Tom Harbour)

Helicopter pilot killed in Kansas crash

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

We just received this message from Nate, one of our readers:

Great site, its my source for breaking news every morning.

I wanted to report to you that Roger Hershner, a long-time fire helicopter pilot was killed in Kansas yesterday, March 8. He was ferrying a helicopter from Hillcrest Aircraft Co. in Lewiston, ID to Virginia to start a USFS contract in Virginia. Not much info as to cause is available yet.  He refueled in Ogalala, Nebraska and was enroute to Topeka, Kansas when he crashed.

Roger most recently has flown the joint Santa Fe/Musselshell Exclusive use contract in R3/R1. He also flew the Grangeville Exclusive use contract, and several other contracts in the southern region. He was employed by Hillcrest for about 5 years. He has been flying contract helicopters for the USFS for about 30 years, maybe more.

KSALLink.com and the AP have stories.

Our condolences to Mr. Hershner’s family and co-workers.

Wildfire news, February 20, 2009

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

A real prepare, stay, and defend story

Len Renouf lives on a farm 30 miles east of Melbourne, Australia. Having been a volunteer firefighter, he thought he knew what to expect when one of the large fires approached his place recently, but it was much worse than he thought. His preparations and quick thinking may have saved his life and those of three of his neighbors.

The Daily Mail has the story.

USFS to send ICS trainers to Lebanon

The U.S. Forest Service has received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide Lebanon with training on the Incident Command System.

Service for Chad Suppa scheduled

A memorial service for Chad Suppa, who passed away on February 15 in a parachuting accident, will be held on March 6 in Grand Junction, Colorado. When we receive more information about the exact time and place, we will post it here.

Carson Helicopters to send S-61’s to Afghanistan

Carson helicopters

The company that owned the helicopter that crashed last year killing nine on a fire in northern California will be sending seven of their Sikorsky S-61 ships to Afghanistan.

The Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon reports that Carson Helicopters has signed a contract with a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, which recently changed their name to “Xe”. The contract, worth $605 million through 2013, is for the helicopters to transport supplies; they will not be involved in combat. Carson has already starting painting the helicopters and installing radios.

This is a very interesting development. There is speculation that the deal is related to the liability claims resulting from the crash, and it involves a “fraudulent transfer of assets to block creditors and plaintiffs”.

The Mail Tribune has more details.

Photo: Carson Helicopters

Man sentenced to probation for starting Corral Canyon fire

Brian David Franks, 28, will be on probation and will have to perform 300 hours of community service for starting the 2007 Corral Canyon fire that destroyed 53 homes and injured 6 firefighters near Malibu, California. He pleaded no contest to a felony charge of recklessly causing a fire.

Franks’ hand was also slapped by the judge, stunning Franks’ attorney, who jumped up and objected, waving his arms and shouting. (not really)

As part of his plea deal, Franks agreed to provide testimony against four others that have been charged, some of them for recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury and recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure.

More information is HERE.

Oyler’s sister testifies in Esperanza fire trial

The sister of Raymond Lee Oyler testified in court on Wednesday that he was talking to her on the phone at his house when the Esperanza fire started.

Oyler is charged with five counts of murder for starting the 2006 fire in which five U.S. Forest Service firefighters died. He is also charged with setting 22 other fires in the area in 2006, many of them with a device consisting of a cigarette and matches.

The trial could go to the jury late next week.

Wildfire news, September 1, 2008

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

South Africa: 20 killed in brush fires

(from AHN)

Cape Town, South Africa (AHN) – At least 20 people died in runaway brush fires fueled by strong winds in South Africa over the weekend.

More than 100 fires across the country burned 125,000 acres of land.

In KwaZulu-Natal province 13 people were killed and 25 others after being burned in fires that roared through the area. Elsewhere in the province, another three people were burned to death and five others hospitalized for burns after their shack caught fire in Eastern Cape.

In Mpumalanga province three people were killed by fires.

“This is almost typical weather for August-September with late winds and early spring. There are hot conditions but you still get cold fronts hitting the Cape,” South Africa Weather Service forecaster Evert Scholtz told Afrol News.

But although the windy conditions are common for this time of year, the large number of deadly fires in different parts of the country are not, says Percy Morokane from Johannesburg’s Emergency Services.

“This particular situation has never been experienced before. Reports are coming in from all over the country,” Morokane told BBC news.

Montana: Dunn Mountain fire: contained at 102,383 acres

This huge fire 30 miles northeast of Billings received some rain late on Sunday. The precipitation and cooler temperatures enabled firefighters to make good progress Sunday and Monday, resulting in the fire being 100% contained today. Here is a photo from a couple of days ago:


Wyoming: Gunbarrel fire update

The fire received from a quarter to over a half an inch of rain on Sunday. Paul Broyles’ Type 1 Incident Management Team will transition to a smaller Type 3 Team on Wednesday and the Incident Command Post will move back to Wapiti Ranger Station when that occurs.

Some numbers:

61,923 acres
70% contained
338 personnel assigned
$10,300,000 spent
5 helicopters assigned

California: Burnside fire

UPDATE @ 1:52 p.m. MT Aug. 9

Cool temperatures overnight in the 30s helped to slow the progress of this fire. Some structures are still threatened and the size is reported to be 150 acres.

=============================

A fast-moving fire south of Lake Tahoe had burned at least 125 acres as of Sunday evening. Two resorts, three campgrounds and about 20 homes are being evacuated for the fire south of Highway 88, 6 miles west of Woodfords. Sunday evening the fire was crowning in timber, pushed by strong west winds. A Type 3 incident management team has been ordered. Lat/Long: 38 45′ 28.8″ -119 55′ 23.17″ . HERE is a link to a Google map.

A strong cold front moved through the area Sunday night. Much cooler weather is expected for Monday and Monday night, followed by a rapid warm-up from Tuesday onward. Winds will remain generally light through at least Wednesday.



Photos courtesy of Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Aircraft used during the Seige of ’08

AINonline has an interesting article that summarizes the vast aircraft resources that were used during the lightning bust in northern California this summer. Here is an excerpt:

In addition to the rotorcraft assets, the effort employed a wide range of fixed-wing aircraft–ranging from a DC-10 waterbomber to the Predator UAV–to help control the blazes.

Cal Fire fielded a fleet of 23 S2T twin-turboprop waterbombers based out of the former McClellan AFB, along with 14 OV-10 Broncos used for aerial and ground control. Eight C-130 Hercules belonging to the Air Force Reserve and National Guard were quickly converted into fire bombers through the installation of modular airborne firefighting systems and used to great effect, according to authorities.

A pair of National Guard infrared-sensing RC-26s–used frequently on drug interdiction missions–was deployed to identify hot spots in the conflagration and relay real-time images to the crews on the ground. The massive Martin Mars flying boat and a squadron of four Convair CV-580s, each capable of carrying 2,000 gallons of flame retardant, came from Canada.