The wildland and prescribed fire programs in Mississippi

TBT: Mississippi tractor plow

Mississippi Forestry Commission fire tractor plow
Mississippi Forestry Commission photo.

For Throw Back Thursday–

The Mississippi Forestry Commission (@MSForestryComm) put this photo on Twitter today, honoring their delivery of “quality forest management services and assistance to private forest landowners for 92 years”.

Anyone want to take a stab at the date it was taken? I’m guessing the truck is from the mid-60’s. There is a number on the side that looks like “2700”. I don’t know if that’s a model, or a vehicle number assigned by the MFC.

Funeral services held for victims of Mississippi helicopter crash

Funeral services were held Saturday for the two firefighters who were killed in the March 30 crash of a helicopter that was being used on a prescribed fire in southern Mississippi.

Below is an excerpt from an article at WLOX:

WIGGINS, MS (WLOX) – First Baptist Church in Wiggins has a capacity of 300 people. For Steve Cobb’s memorial service on Saturday, there were 500 in the sanctuary.

This followed the more than 1,000 who attended the four-hour visitation on Friday.

People came from all over the state and country to find comfort and encouragement from one another and to try to understand how the long-time U.S. Forest Service employee died too soon.

The funeral service for pilot Brandon Ricks was also held Saturday in his hometown of Blanchard, Oklahoma.

The lone survivor, Brendan Mullen, continues to recover at the University of South Alabama Medical Center’s burn unit in Mobile.

The investigation into the crash by multiple agencies will likely last months if not a year or more.

Many attending the service were members of the U.S. Forest Service. The service was broadcast outside the church so that the message of his legacy could be heard loud and clear to everyone.

Obituary for Brandon Ricks.
Update on the condition of Brendan Mullen.

Update on services for victims of Mississippi helicopter crash

Background: On Monday, March 30, at 3 pm a helicopter crashed during a prescribed fire on the De Soto National Forest in southern Mississippi. Confirmed fatalities were Steve Cobb, 55 of Wiggins, Mississippi, and Brandon Ricks, 40 of Blanchard, Oklahoma. A third firefighter, Brendan Mullen, 42 of Helena, Montana, received extensive injuries.

Steve Cobb worked on the De Soto National Forest as an engineering technician. Steve is survived by his wife Cynthia Cobb, daughter Jenna Parsons, son Adam Cobb, and three grandchildren.

Brandon Ricks was a pilot from T & M Aviation Inc. of Abbeville, Louisiana. Brandon is survived by his wife, Coleen, daughter Kaitlyn, and son Hunter.

Brendan Mullen was temporarily assigned to the De Soto National Forest at the time of the crash. He is from Helena, MT where he works for the Helena National Forest as a forestry technician working with helicopters. Brendan’s family set up a webpage for words of encouragement.

Current Status: Investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration continue. Several teams and U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester Tony Tooke are on site to provide support for the victims, their families, and co-workers.

The Forest Service created a De Soto Aviation Event Firefighters Memorial webpage with more information about each firefighter.

Brendon Rick’s obituary.

Brendan Mullen’s condition is stable and he continues to improve.

Future Events: Visitation services for Steve Cobb are Friday, April 3, from 4 pm to 8 pm, and the funeral service is scheduled for Saturday April 4, at 11 am at the First Baptist Church, 219 Second Street North, Wiggins, Mississippi.

Visitation for Brandon Ricks will be Friday at Eisenhour Funeral Home in Blanchard, Oklahoma. His funeral service will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Blanchard, Oklahoma.

Brenden Mullen is scheduled for skin graft surgery tomorrow.

Several teams helping manage helicopter crash incident

(UPDATED at 9 a.m. MDT, April 2, 2015)

Below is information released by the incident management team that is helping to manage the helicopter crash incident in Mississippi.

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On Monday, March 30, 2015, a helicopter assisting with a controlled burn on the De Soto National Forest crashed killing two firefighters and injuring a third. Killed were Brandon Ricks, 40, of Oklahoma, a pilot for T&M Aviation of Abbeville, Louisiana and Steve Cobb, 55, of Wiggins, Mississippi, an engineering technician for De Soto National Forest. Injured was Brendan Mullen, 42, a supervisory forestry technician from Helena National Forest in Montana.

Our hearts go out to the families and friends of Brandon Ricks and Steve Cobb and we wish a rapid recovery for Brendan Mullen. Cards or letters of support to the Cobb family can be sent to De Soto Ranger District at 654 West Frontage Road. Wiggins, MS 39577. We will post information on how to send condolences to the Ricks family when we receive it.

Brendan Mullen is recovering with burns on approximately 15 percent of his body. He is stable and will require skin grafts. Cards and letters of support for him can be sent to Helena National Forest, ATTN: Helena Aviation Center, 2880 Skyway Drive, Helena, MT 59602. You can also follow his progress and wish him well at CaringBridge.

The Regional Forester arrived to meet with Desoto District employees. Critical Response Protocol Teams arrived to assist employees. ASC Benefits Counselors have been assigned to assist affected employees/families. The helicopter fuselage has been removed from the site. The Southern Area (Red) Type 1 Incident Management Team is providing facilitation/coordination and information flow between the Critical Stress Protocol Teams and Forest employees.

The Team will continue to provide facilitation, coordination, and information flow between the National Forests in Mississippi and the Desoto Ranger District with the National Transportation Safety Board, Critical Response Protocol Teams, Albuquerque Service Center and local law enforcement, fire department and affected businesses. The Red Team will initiate planning for memorial service tentatively scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4.

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(Originally published at 11:48 a.m. MDT, April 1, 2015)

In addition to the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Stephanie Johnson, a spokesperson for the U. S. Forest Service, said the agency has dispatched three teams to manage the helicopter crash incident in southern Mississippi on the Desoto National Forest.

Two were killed in the crash, pilot Brandon Wicks of T & M Aviation, and Stephen W. Cobb of the USFS. Supervisory Forestry Technician Brendan Mullen of the USFS was injured and transported to a hospital.

A short version of Mike Dueitt’s Type 1 Incident Management Team was ordered on March 30. Typically on an incident like this an IMT will handle operational details, as well as work with the families of the victims to plan the final arrangements including in some cases a memorial service that might be attended by a large number of people.

A Critical Response Protocol team will be reviewing the accident to determine if there are any lessons to be learned.

And finally, a Critical Incident Stress team will assist employees and others in recovering emotionally from the tragedy.

Victims identified in Mississippi helicopter crash

The victims in Monday’s helicopter crash have been identified. WLOX reports that the Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said the pilot, Brandon Ricks, 40, of Oklahoma died of smoke inhalation. The other man killed in the crash, Steven W. Cobb, 55, of Wiggins died of multiple blunt force trauma.

Mr. Hargrove said Mr. Cobb worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Mr. Ricks worked for T & M Aviation out of Oklahoma.

U.S. Forest Service Supervisory Forestry Technician Brendan Mullen was injured and transported from the site to a hospital by helicopter.

The firefighters were working on a prescribed fire in southern Mississippi on the Desoto National Forest about 25 miles northwest of Biloxi.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a statement on Tuesday, saying, “The loved ones and colleagues of Brendan, Steve, and Brandon Ricks, who also lost his life in the crash, are in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. On behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture, I thank them for risking their lives to protect us, our homes and natural resources.”

 

Two killed when helicopter crashes while working on a prescribed fire in Mississippi

(UPDATED at 9:55 a.m. CDT, March 31, 2015)

A helicopter crashed in southern Mississippi on March 30, 2015, killing two people who were working on a prescribed fire. Mario Rossilli, spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, said one of the deceased worked for the USFS and the other was the pilot of the helicopter under contract with the USFS. The person that was injured was also a USFS employee. Their names have not been released.

This video has a little more information than the one we posted on Monday.

WLOX.com – The News for South Mississippi

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Originally published at 9:03 p.m. CDT, March 30, 2015 Two people were killed and one was injured March 30 when a helicopter crashed while working on a prescribed fire on the Desoto National Forest in southern Mississippi. Below is an excerpt from NBC news: 

The helicopter, a Bell 206L-1, went down about 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) near Saucier, about 25 miles northwest of Biloxi, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed. The NTSB said it would lead the investigation. “We do have two confirmed fatalities,” Harrison County Fire Chief Pat Sullivan told reporters. The third crew member was airlifted to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, he said. The men were contract workers who were monitoring a controlled burn of about 800 acres in De Soto National Forest, authorities said.

  From WLOX:

An eyewitness told WLOX News he saw the chopper working the fire, and could tell something didn’t seem right. “The helicopter was circling around the fire and within the next couple of minutes I saw it. It was landing on purpose, but it sounded like a little maybe in distress. But then shortly there after a rescue came in and was wanting to know how to get back there,” said Earnest Richardson Junior. “You could tell something was wrong at the end of it, but I didn’t know it was that bad. It kinda looked like he was almost landing for a minute. But like I said, I’m not sure because it circled around the fire. I thought maybe he was trying to land.”

Our sincere condolences go out to their families and co-workers.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kevin.

Wildfire briefing, January 30, 2015

Fire near Lake Disston, Florida

Fire near Lake Disston FL

Kenny Arnaldi took this photo Wednesday of a wildfire a mile south of Lake Disston, Florida.

Bushfire burns into Waroona in Western Australia

bushfire threatening Waroona
A bushfire threatening Waroona, about 100 kilometers south of Perth.

A large bushfire has burned into the city of Waroona in Western Australia about 100 kilometers south of Perth. (Map)

Below is an excerpt from an article at abc.net.au updated at about 4 p.m. MST, January 30, 2015:

An out-of-control bushfire is threatening lives and homes at Waroona in Western Australia, with up to three properties believed to be damaged so far. The blaze has entered the town, which is about 100 kilometres south of Perth, and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has warned it is moving fast in a north-westerly direction. Embers are likely to be blown around homes, starting spot fires.

DFES duty assistant commissioner Chris Arnol said residents should take their location into consideration when planning how to respond.

“It depends on where they are. We’ve asked some residents to shelter in place which is the best option for them and others to evacuate to [an evacuation centre in the nearby town of Harvey],” he said. “People should have their fire plans ready and know what to do. We’ve got about 150 firefighters. We had 21 appliances on the fire and we’ve sent a further 24 from the metropolitan area.”

Oklahoma grass fires

Firefighters responding to a fire southwest of Tulsa observed a person setting one of eight grass fires that were burning in the area. More information is in the video below.

Update on the Kīlauea volcano lava flow
Kīlauea volcano
 The image above released by US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on January 29 shows the lava flow front from the Kīlauea volcano a mere 550 yards away from Highway 130 at its closest point. The distal tips are stalled, however “breakouts persist upslope,” writes USGS, “and these areas of activity can be spotted in this photograph by small smoke plumes where the lava is burning vegetation on the flow margins.”

Mississippi wildfire threatens natural gas facilities
A wildfire in Simpson County Mississippi (map) burned over an underground natural gas pipeline and came close to an above ground gas substation.

Below are excerpts from an article at WSMV:

“If it blows up down here, won’t nobody be left in Simpson County,” said resident Gurston McDonald.

McDonald lives just down the road from where a fire ripped through several acres of grass and forest, stopping just a few feet shy of a natural gas substation.

“All these gas lines coming through is a great concern,” added McDonald.

Simpson County EOC Director Glen Jennings said at least three fires broke out Thursday afternoon. However, the one off the highway posed the biggest danger to neighboring residents. Containing it also remained a challenge, because forestry officials can’t dig a fire line when there’s a gas line underneath.

“We don’t push on these gas lines. We just let it go, try to control it by water or some other means,” said Ben Vanderford with the Mississippi Forestry Commission. “We never know how deep those lines are, when we’re out there plowing these fire lines. These lines may be five or six feet under the ground, they might be five or six inches under the ground.”

And as night fell, flames spread again toward the substation, this time from a patch of trees about 200 feet away, with no fire line to stop it.