News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Six single engine air tankers ready for fires in South Dakota 
In what is unprecedented in the state, six Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) are staged and available to help to fight wildfires in South Dakota this week. The aircraft are positioned at Pierre, Mobridge, Valentine, Hot Springs and two in Lemmon.
Part of the reason for the surge in the numbers of air tankers is the opening of pronghorn antelope season on Saturday.
There have been quite a few fires in western South Dakota this year and the SEATs have been busy.
Wednesday afternoon an older couple was driving their Dodge pickup truck on US Highway 385 just south of Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota when they smelled smoke. The driver told us that it smelled like a forest fire but they could not see any nearby — until the interior of the truck filled with smoke. They pulled over and called 911 on their cell phone and then stood on the side of the road several hundred feet away with their two dogs as the truck burned, waiting for what they thought was the inevitable explosion — just like they have seen so many times in movies.
When they received the dispatch to the fire the engine crew from Wind Cave was only about four miles away doing some training. Already wearing their Nomex shirts, they responded in Engine 628 (the white truck) and saw that the burning vehicle was on the side of the road parked at a driveway, which provided more clearance than if the truck had stopped anywhere else. With the strong wind that was blowing, one burning ember in the grass alongside the road and the fire would have been over the hill quickly. The National Park Service engine crew quickly knocked down the fire, keeping it from spreading into the vegetation, and then turned it over to firefighters from Hot Springs when they arrived from their station about 6 miles away.
Congratulations to the Wind Cave crew for preventing what could have become a large vegetation fire. The weather at the Elk Mountain weather station a few miles away recorded a 10 mph wind with gusts up to 22 at the time of the fire. Darren Clabo, a fire meteorologist for the state of South Dakota, sent out this tweet earlier today:
Extreme Fire Danger for many West River counties today. Gusty southeast winds with RHs falling below 20%
The occupants told us that after they pulled over they saw pine cones dropping out of the engine compartment as the truck burned. They figured that while they had been camping, a squirrel had designated their truck as a storage facility for its’ winter food supply. The pine cones must have been close to an exhaust pipe which caused them to ignite.
After I downloaded these images I noticed some pine cones in the picture above. Below is an enlargement of the area below the truck’s engine, with arrows pointing out some of the pine cones that were still recognizable.
We are adding this to our articles that are tagged “animal arson” — the 10th in the series — so far.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Wildfire briefing, September 17, 2012 US Forest Service deactivates the last two MAFFS air tankers
The US Forest Service has released from fire duty the last two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped military C-130s. At one time this summer all eight were active, which was the first time since 2008 eight C-130s had been activated simultaneously.
According to 153rd Air Expeditionary Group officials based in Boise, Idaho, this season has become the second-highest in MAFFS history for gallons of fire retardant dropped, surpassed only by the MAFFS season of 1994 when about 5 million gallons were dropped. This season, through Sept. 14, the MAFFS fleet released almost 2.5 million gallons of fire retardant during 1,011 drops on fires in 10 states.
Awards presented for actions following the crash of MAFFS air tanker
One of the MAFFS C-130s mentioned above, MAFFS 7, crashed on July 1 while working on the White Draw Fire west of Hot Springs, South Dakota, killing four people and injuring two. Recently awards were presented to at least three helitack crew members honoring them for their efforts in the rescue and recovery of the crew members of the C-130. Awards were given to Firefighters Daniel Diaz, Kevin Walters, and pilot Chuck MacFarland from the San Bernardino National Forest. There may also have been awards given to other firefighters that were involved in the incident.
Helicopter 535 from Keenwild Station on the San Bernardino National Forest and a helicopter from Wasatch, which were both assigned to the White Draw Fire, responded to the crash and effected the rescue of the two surviving crew members and initiated the search for the deceased. Media reports at the time said the two survivors were picked up by helicopter from the crash site and flown to the Custer airport approximately 25 miles north of the fire. From there one was flown by a life flight helicopter to a hospital in Rapid City and the other went by ground ambulance to the hospital.
Below is a photo that we shot on June 29 of Helicopter 535 dropping on the White Draw Fire two days before the crash of MAFFS 7.
Canadian firefighters helping out in United States
More than 100 firefighers from Canada will be helping to suppress wildfires in the state of Washington. They were expected to arrive on Monday, September 17 to assist the 3,500 firefighters currently working on fires in Washington and Oregon.
Report examines residential wildfire risk in 13 states
The CoreLogic company has released an interesting report that analyzes the residential wildfire risk in 13 states. One fact they point out is that living within a city boundary does not prevent a wildfire from reaching a home, since all it takes is one burning ember that could be transported for thousands of feet before it lands in a gutter full of leaves at an otherwise well-maintained home.
The graphic below from the report was news to me… that in the previous five decades there has been such a significant increase in homes destroyed in wildfires.
USFS Deputy Chief says they do not have enough firefighting resources
In spite of the annual spring press releases that claim there will plenty of firefighting resources for upcoming season, Jim Hubbard, the US Forest Service Deputy Chief, is quoted in an article in the San Francisco Examiner as saying the agency does not have enough resources to cover long-duration wildfires. This was the reason given for their policy this summer of full suppression of all fires, rather than letting some fires burn through remote areas for weeks or months with only minimum intervention by firefighters.
Air tanker videos from Canada
Josh sent us these videos of air tankers in action in Canada, saying:
The aircraft models in both videos were a mix of the L188 Electra (the quad) and a couple of AT802’s (SEAT). The yellow Electra is Airspray of Edmonton AB (they have 3 on exclusive use with the BCFS), the rest are Conair’s (Abbotsford BC). They also provide several CV580’s (not in these videos) along with one Electra and a group of 802’s.
Thanks go out to Ken, Kelly, and Dick
Eleven years ago…..
Today, eleven years after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, we will pause for a minute to remember those firefighters and other citizens who lost their lives that day……………….
Next Generation legged robots
We first wrote about these “robot dogs” in 2009, and now DARPA has developed the next generation of these machines that are designed to “unburden dismounted [military] squad members by carrying their gear, autonomously following them through rugged terrain, and interpreting verbal and visual commands.”
I wonder how much water or fire hose these critters can carry?
Amazing air tanker photo
One of the best photos ever taken of an air tanker drop was taken by Kent Porter at the Scotts fire in northern California and can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle web site.
California fire protection fee
The San Francisco Chronicle also has an article that updates the situation in which California owners of habitable structures in areas where the state is responsible for fire prevention must pay a $150 fee. Lawsuits may be filed. Of course.
New map of all large fires this year
The Associated Press has an interesting map that supposedly shows all of the large fires that have occurred this year.
Atomic scientists weigh in on climate change and wildland fires
A publication titled Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published an article written by Max Moritz, of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in the College of Natural Resources at University of California, Berkeley. (I wonder if all that fits on a business card?) Mr. Moritz writes about how climate change will affect wildland fires and the population. It does not exactly break new ground, with the recommendations being communities should be fire-resistant and we must learn to coexist again with wildfire.
Thanks go out to Kelly
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized9 Comments on Forest Service conducts another study on air tankers 
The U.S. Forest Service has commissioned and paid for another study on the use of air tankers. This now becomes the eighth one conducted since 1996 that is either completed or in progress. You can see the entire list on our Documents page.
This one was completed by USFS employees assigned to the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). Their goal appeared to be to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of air tankers, although their exact objective could not be found in the document. It is titled Airtankers and wildfire management in the US Forest Service: examining data availability and exploring usage and cost trends, written by Matthew P. Thompson, David E. Calkin, Jason Herynk, Charles W. McHugh, and Karen C. Short.
The researchers found that the data collected as air tankers are being used is very limited, in spite of the fact that the U.S. General Accounting Office in 2007 recommended the Forest Service develop improved systems for ‘recording and analysing data about the cost and use of these assets at the time of the fire’.
It is generally accepted that the most logical use of air tankers is in initial attack. If aerial resources can arrive at the fire while it is only 5, 10 or 20 acres and slow it down, frequently firefighters on the ground can put it out, sometimes preventing it from becoming a megafire that can tie up resources for weeks costing the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. CAL FIRE understands this. We documented one example in which three of their air tankers dropped on a fire within 30 minutes of the first smoke report. Air tankers don’t put out fires, but with only 9 on federal exclusive use contracts like we have today, initial attack with aerial and ground resources is usually impossible.
The RMRS researchers, with the limited amount of data available, concluded that air tankers were used on initial attack for somewhere between 7 and 48 percent of all of their flights. The broad range is an indication of the quality of data being collected as these very expensive resources are being used. Averaged across the years 2007–2010, in cases where the use of air tankers could be linked to the fire size, initial attack fires (less than 300 acres according to the researchers) comprise only 10.8% of total flights (see the chart below, from their report).
Thanks go out to Matt
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on Black Hills land managers proactively organizing to fight fires 
Since the Myrtle fire burned over 10,000 acres and racked up $4,000,000 in suppression costs, land managers in the Black Hills of South Dakota have become more proactive and aggressive in organizing to fight wildfires. The agencies have been attacking new fires with enough resources to stop the spread within the first burning period. And it has not been easy in all cases. While dozens of lightning-caused fires have burned less than two acres, a few fires have burned several hundred acres but were stopped the same day.
In addition — they have beefed up the number of ground resources available for initial and extended attack of new fires; have increased the number of helicopters available at Custer; on most days there have been a couple of heavy air tankers available at Rapid City; and today they announced that fire managers from the Black Hills National Forest, the National Park Service, and the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression entered into an agreement to order a Type 2 Incident Management Team to operate a Command and Mobilization Center. The Team will be assisting with initial attack of fires that grow beyond the capabilities of local resources; assisting the local units by tracking and handling the administrative processes of incoming personnel, crews and equipment; and ordering and resupplying the tools, equipment and other items to ensure that firefighters are ready to go to the next fire.
These are all welcome improvements, and the land managers should be commended for their success in dealing with the many new fires over the last eight days.
This was not necessarily the case when the Myrtle fire started at 1:30 p.m. MT on July 19. From the radio traffic I heard, the first large air tankers were requested at approximately 3:40 p.m. and I saw the first one arrive over the fire at 7:14 p.m. By that time, the Type 1 Incident Management Team, which is used for managing the largest and most complex fires, had already been ordered. I don’t know if a squadron of air tankers over the fire in the first 30 minutes would have made a big difference, but for whatever reason, the fixed wing aerial resources were not available to assist the firefighters on the ground.
As we frequently say, air tankers don’t put out fires, boots on the ground do. But air tankers and helicopters can greatly enhance their effectiveness. An investment in flight time and retardant within the first 30 minutes can, in some cases, save the taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce the loss of lives and property. Having only nine large air tankers available on long term contracts for the entire country makes this objective difficult to achieve. Ten years ago we had 53.
On June 26 we provided a solution for reducing the number of megafires. It began like this:
Dr. Gabbert’s prescription for keeping new fires from becoming megafires: Rapid initial attack with overwhelming force using both ground and air resources, arriving within the first 10 to 30 minutes when possible…
