An Area Command Team has been mobilized to assist local units in the state
Continue readingWhy did the Oregon fires in the Siege of ’20 spread so quickly?
Using a rule of thumb to predict how fast a wildfire will spread
Continue readingPhotos of air tankers attacking fire one mile from air tanker base
Tanker 103, (an MD-87, N293EA) drops on a fire west of the Medford, OR airport Sept. 9, 2020. Photo by Tim Crippin.Tim Crippin shot these photos of two air tankers dropping on a fire that had just broken out one mile west of the air tanker base at the Rogue Valley International Airport (MFR) at Medford, Oregon. Here is what he wrote:
I took these pictures of Tankers 103 and 910 dropping retardant on a fast moving brush fire that was racing up the Bear Creek Greenway near I-5 between North Medford and Central Point, OR yesterday (9-9-2020). This fire threatened multiple businesses and structures including a FedEx building and Costco. The city of Central Point was on a Level 3 evacuation shortly after it started due to the rapid spread of the fire.
The fire was only about 1 mile west of the Medford Airport and the tankers and helicopters that were working on the South Obenchain Fire were diverted to this fire. They had 3 air tankers do drops and they were Tankers 60 (missed their drop), Tanker 103 and Tanker 910. Along with multiple helicopters.
I took these pictures near Million Air at the Medford Airport.
The South Obenchain Fire has burned about 12,000 acres 12 miles northeast of the airport.
Tanker 910, (a DC-10, N612AX) drops on a fire west of the Medford, OR airport Sept. 9, 2020. Photo by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 910, (a DC-10, N612AX) drops on a fire west of the Medford, OR airport Sept. 9, 2020. Photo by Tim Crippin.Wildfires have burned over 800 square miles in Oregon
Four fires east of Interstate 5, from Portland south to Eugene, are each larger than 100,000 acres.
Continue readingGlendower Fire (aka Almeda Fire) burns toward Medford, Oregon
Multiple structures have burned
Continue readingStrong winds spread numerous wildfires in Oregon and Washington
An unprecedented number of fires and acres have burned in recent days
Continue readingPilot identified in Oregon helicopter accident
The helicopter was a Kaman Aerospace K1200, better known as a K-MAX
Continue readingAccident kills firefighting helicopter pilot in Oregon
August 25, 2020 | 4:24 a.m. PDT
White River Fire August 18, 2020. InciWeb.The pilot of a helicopter was killed August 24 while assisting firefighters on the White River Fire in Oregon. According to the U.S. Forest Service the K-MAX helicopter was dropping water in rough terrain when the accident occurred.
Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and Forest Service air and ground resources responded immediately to the site. There will be an investigation into the accident, and the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified. The firefighter has not yet been identified.
The White River Fire has burned 1,102 acres of timber and light logging slash 11 miles southeast of Mt. Hood since it started from a lightning strike August 17. It is being suppressed by 304 personnel and a Type 2 incident management team led by Incident Commander Brian Goff.
We send out our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot.
White River Fire August 24, 2020Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jeff.
Pilot killed in helicopter accident while battling Oregon fire
August 25, 2020 | 4:07 a.m. PDT
White River Fire August 24, 2020The pilot of a helicopter was killed August 24 while assisting firefighters on the White River Fire in Oregon. According to the U.S. Forest Service the K-MAX helicopter was dropping water in rough terrain when the accident occurred.
Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and Forest Service air and ground resources responded immediately to the site. There will be an investigation into the accident, and the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified. The firefighter has not yet been identified.
The White River Fire has burned 1,102 acres of timber and light logging slash 11 miles southeast of Mt. Hood since it started from a lightning strike August 17. It is being suppressed by 304 personnel and a Type 2 incident management team led by Incident Commander Brian Goff.
We send out our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the pilot.
White River Fire August 18, 2020. InciWeb.Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jeff.
Helicopters help suppress fire that burned into Oregon junkyard
August 16, 2020 | 3:34 p.m. PDT
An S-61 helicopter drops water on the Juniper Ridge Fire, August 15, 2020. Photo by Brendan O’Reilly.(This article first appeared on Fire Aviation)
A vegetation fire that spread into an auto wrecking yard Saturday was attacked by firefighters on the assisted by at least five aircraft. Hundreds of homes were threatened including a mobile home park next door.
Footage from KTVZ showed numerous water drops by an Air-Crane, Helicopter 3AC. At least two Single Engine Air Tankers also worked the fire, as well as two other helicopters, an S61 and a third that may have been a Bell 205, said Brendan O’Reilly, Superintendent of the Prineville Hotshots who was on scene.
Helicopter 3AC drops on the Juniper Fire August 15, 2020. Note the shadow of the helicopter on the thick smoke. Screenshot from KTVZ video.Numerous vehicles were on fire in the wrecking yard producing a thick column of black smoke.
“Maybe 25 acres [were burning] in the wildland around several structures, and then about 10 acres in the junkyard although due to the thick toxic smoke and exploding airbags and tires, we couldn’t accurately map the whole perimeter on the ground,” Superintendent O’Reilly said. “I’d never personally seen helicopters used on a junkyard fire. The helicopters were much more effective than SEATs due to the thick black smoke column, but still couldn’t do much except limit spread to adjacent structures. It took structure engines with SCBAs to make any headway in the junkyard itself, but that was after hours of tires and airbags exploding. It was a very interesting evening.”
Juniper Ridge Fire, August 15, 2020 by Brendan O’Reilly.“Due to the air attack resources we were able to make an aggressive stop on the fire,” said Trish Connolly, Battalion Chief for Bend County Fire Department. “Today we know that we lost two outbuildings and [and there was] damage to a commercial building.”
Evacuations were in effect while the fire was spreading but were lifted late in the day.
Early reports say the fire started east of the railroad that is just east of the wrecking yard.
File photo of the Juniper Fire area, July 27, 2018. Google Earth.The video below shows several drops by the Air-Crane helicopter, 3AC.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Brendan.