A MAFFS C-130 air tanker at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, June 27, 2012. Photo by Staff Sgt Stephany Richards
(We have updated information on the incident HERE, July 2, 2012.)
A C-130 military air tanker air tanker *”went down” in South Dakota late Sunday afternoon. Fox News and the Rapid City Journal are reporting that two or three survived — reports differ about the number. The incident was confirmed by Pat Cross, a spokesperson for the Incident Management Team assigned to the White Draw fire northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota. It is believed that the air tanker had been working on that fire.
A helicopter was able to land near the site and fly the injured crewmembers to Custer. From there they were transported to Rapid City Regional Hospital for further medical treatment, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The C-130 usually carries a crew of six. The additional members of the crew are unaccounted for.
The aircraft was outfitted with a Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) in the cargo hold which enables it to operate as an air tanker, carrying up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant. It was one of eight that have been activated over the last week to help suppress the numerous fires in the western United States.
*(Note: we used the term “went down” because that or “gone down” is the phrase that was used in the early reports, including those from the Fall River County Sheriff’s Office and the Great Plains Dispatch Center in Rapid City. We don’t know the circumstances, and there is a report that it occurred several miles from the White Draw fire.)
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We want to thank the numerous people who reported this to us in comments on other articles and directly over the phone. This notice would have gone up sooner, but we were out in the field covering the Highland and Oil Creek fires.
In the photo above — these two very old structures near Red Canyon Road were carefully protected by firefighters who constructed a fireline around them and then removed additional fuel by burning out from the fireline. Photo by Bill Gabbert, June 30, 2012
The White Draw fire northeast of Edgemont was very active Saturday and firefighters received the support of two military MAFFS C-130 air tankers, until a thundershower in mid-afternoon dropped a little rain on the fire, slowing things down considerably. At 7 p.m. Saturday I drove all the way up Red Canyon road which divides the fire in half. I could only see a fraction of the 3,000-acre fire from the road but there was very little smoke visible. There was MUCH less action than I photographed on Friday, the day the fire started. However helicopters were busy dropping water on the east side yesterday evening.
Sunday morning the fire crews were scheduled to get an early start, with their morning briefing being held at 6 a.m. at the Edgemont Fairgrounds.
The Type 2 Incident Management Team that had been running the Dakota fire near Sheridan Lake is transitioning over to the White Draw fire. Rick Seidlitz will be the Incident Commander on this fire while Bob Fry is turning the Dakota fire over to a local Type 3 IMTeam.
Map of the White Draw fire, 10:51 p.m. MT, June 30, 2012
InciWeb now has current information about the fire.
Below is a news release from the IMTeam issued this morning at 9 a.m.
Edgemont, SD–Active fire behavior began in the late morning yesterday on the White Draw Fire producing heavy smoke and significant fire growth until a late afternoon shower briefly slowed fire activity, especially in the fine (grassy) fuels. Four helicopters provided water drops throughout the day to temporarily cool hot spots so firefighters could more safely and effectively attack the fire.
It wasn’t but a few minutes after the thundershower passed that once again the helicopters were being asked for aerial support. Aerial support was also provided by a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) and two heavy air tankers.
As of late last night, the White Draw Fire is 10% contained and has burned roughly 3,000 acres. 181 personnel are assigned to this fire. This includes four type 2 hand crews (20 people each), crews associated with 13 engines, three dozers, and five water tenders. More crews and equipment have been ordered.
After a much dryer and warmer than normal spring, firefighters are dealing with flashy fuels that ignite rapidly. Hazardous steep terrain and rattlesnakes are added additional “watch out” conditions for them to deal with.
The night operation consisted mainly of patrolling and holding the fire line that was constructed during the day.
Weather today is once again expected to be hot and dry. There is a slight chance of light rain that may once again only temporarily slow fire activity.
Fire operations are starting an hour earlier this morning to take advantage of more favorable and efficient working conditions ahead of expected unfavorable winds and temperatures this afternoon. Crews will continue to hold and improve fire lines established yesterday in attempts to minimize fire growth. We are in a full suppression mode. Crews are also concentrating on structure protection to the northwest of the fire perimeter in anticipation of expected winds that could press the fire in that direction.
The White Draw Fire is located approximately five miles northeast of Edgemont, burning primarily on forest service lands in a mix of grasslands and timber.
We just talked with Brian Scott, a spokesperson for the fire, who told us that a thunderstorm dumped a small amount of rain on the fire in mid-afternoon, but far too little to have any long term effect. The fire was still active at 6:30 p.m., but with the higher humidity following the rain, not as active as it was early in the afternoon.
I checked the data at the Red Canyon weather station near the fire and it only recorded 0.03 inch of rain at around 3 p.m.
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UPDATE at 4:12 p.m. MT, June 30, 2012:
A Type 2 Incident Management Team, with Bob Fry as Incident Commander, will be reassigned from the Dakota fire near Sheridan Lake, to the White Draw fire
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UPDATE at 2:49 p.m., MT, June 30, 2012:
Brian Scott, a spokesperson for the fire, told us that the fire is very active this afternoon, and in the morning exhibited fire behavior that you would expect to see in mid-afternoon, when the humidity is lower and the temperature is higher. They have not had a chance to accurately map the fire perimeter from an aircraft, but he said they estimate the size at about 2,000 acres.
Two military MAFFS C-130 air tankers are working on the fire. Since the U.S. Forest Service Air Tanker base has not been approved for handling MAFFS C-130s, the two aircraft are flying to Billings, Montana, 290 miles away, to reload with retardant. Rapid City would have been a 57-mile hop.
Gordon Schaefer, the new Base Manager who just transferred into the position a few weeks ago, told Wildfire Today that until yesterday the Rapid City Air Tanker Base had not been inspected for MAFFS compatibility. The Air Force Lt. Col. who conducted the inspection said the physical layout and the ramp strength appeared to meet the specifications, but they require a written copy of the ramp specs which was not immediately available. Mr. Schaefer said that next week he hopes to supply the required paperwork to the Air Force, and then MAFFS air tankers should be able to reload at Rapid City.
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12:05 p.m MT, June 30, 2012
We talked with Cindy Super, an Information Officer for the Dakota fire, another fire in the Black Hills, who told us that a ball park estimate for the size of the White Draw fire is 1,000 acres, but they intend to fly the fire and map it to get a more accurate number. As of now, the aircraft working the fire will be about the same as yesterday, one single engine air tanker, four helicopters, and no large air tankers.
The Incident Commander of the fire is Jared Hohm. Ms. Super was not certain if a Type 3 Incident Management Team will be assigned to the fire, or if her Type 2 IMTeam, with Bob Fry as Incident Commander, will be reassigned to the White Draw fire. Fry’s team is already loaning some of their members to the White Draw fire.
The map above shows heat detected by a satellite at 12:19 p.m. MT, June 30, 2012. (MODIS/Google)
The White Draw fire started at about 4 p.m. Friday afternoon northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota after a motor home driving up the grade on Highway 18 toward Hot Springs caught on fire. I cruised out there and shot some photos. Here’s one, and I’ll post more over the next few days.
There were quite a few engines working on the fire from the local communities, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, the State of South Dakota, and the National Park Service. There were no large air tankers on the fire at any time as far as I know, but there was one Single Engine Air Tanker, plus two Type 3 Helicopters and a Blackhawk. When I left the fire at about 9:45 p.m. I could not see the entire fire, but I’m guessing it had burned hundreds of acres.
The White Draw fire started at about 4 p.m. Friday afternoon northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota after a motor home driving up the grade on Highway 18 toward Hot Springs caught on fire. I cruised out there and shot some photos. Here’s one, and I’ll post more over the next few days.
There were quite a few engines working on the fire from the local communities, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, the State of South Dakota, and the National Park Service. There were no large air tankers on the fire at any time as far as I know, but there was one Single Engine Air Tanker, plus two Type 3 Helicopters and a Blackhawk. When I left the fire at about 9:45 p.m. I could not see the entire fire, but I’m guessing it had burned hundreds of acres.
On March 17 we photographed and shot video of a prescribed fire in the channel of the Fall River in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Today we hiked down to the river to see what it looks like six weeks later. The first photo was taken of the same area as the next two but from a different vantage point. The second was taken a few minutes after the burn, and the third was taken today.
The firefighters with the Hot Springs Fire Department did very well!
Photos on the cover of the report. A portion of one of the photos was redacted.
The U.S. Forest Service has released the Serious Accident Investigation Report for the Coal Canyon Fire, on which firefighter Trampus Haskvitz of Hot Springs, South Dakota was killed August 11, 2011 in the Black Hills of South Dakota north of Edgemont. In addition to Trampus, two firefighters received serious burns and two others had minor burns. Two firefighters were entrapped in an engine. One, Trampus, remained entrapped and died; the other, K.C. Fees escaped. Austin Whitney who was outside the engine, was transported to a Greeley, Colorado Burn Center. The two firefighters who received minor burns during rescue efforts were treated at local hospitals and released. Mr. Haskvitz and Mr. Whitney both worked for the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression Division.
This photo looks down on the entrapment site. The fire spread according to the numbered arrows: along arrow 1 during E 2’s initial escape attempt, arrow 2 as they came around the corner, and arrow 3 during the entrapment itself. The fire remained too hot along paths 1 and 2 for them to escape. Photo by Travis Lunders, taken the day after the accident. The image is from the Google Earth version of the report.
You can download the report HERE. You should read the entire report to get a clear understanding of the sequence of events, but here are some of the key points:
About 15 minutes after the first engine crews arrived at the scene of the fire, they said it was about 1.5 acres in size and estimated the flame lengths to be 0 to 3 feet. Their plan was to anchor near the fire’s origin and use direct fireline to pinch off the fire. Their escape route was down the road beyond the fire’s heel.
The approximate location of the fire when the initial attack engines arrived, at 1:50 p.m. The image is from the Google Earth version of the report.
The engines were on a narrow dirt road. The fire was on a slope below them and also on the slope on the opposite side of the drainage. A spot fire occurred above the road, then the main fire spread up the slope to the road and crossed it.
The approximate location of the fire and the entrapped engine at 3:05 p.m. The image is from the Google Earth version of the report.
Other engines were able to leave the area before the worst of the fire hit the road. One engine tried to escape by driving forward but encountered a wall of fire crossing the road. They backed up in the heavy smoke, going less than 80 feet, and hit a cut bank. At that point truck’s engine died and the fire overran their location. Two firefighters, Haskvitz and Fees, were in the truck as it ignited and began to burn. They deployed one fire shelter inside the cab and tried to use it to protect them both, but the other person had difficulty deploying the second shelter in the cab of the truck. A helicopter heard their mayday calls and tried to drop water on the burning engine, but initially the pilot could not see it in the smoke.
Other firefighters made several heroic attempts to rescue the entrapped firefighters but were driven back by the heat. Fees took a deep breath and escaped from the burning engine, but Haskvitz did not make it out of the cab.
The report does not speculate why the truck’s engine stopped running, but it has happened before on fires when vehicles are in very heavy smoke and there is simply not enough oxygen in the air to support combustion of the fuel in the vehicle’s engine.
A third crewmember assigned to the engine was outside it to the rear when the engine with the two people tried to escape by driving away. As it departed a blast of heat hit him and he dropped to the ground with no time to deploy his fire shelter.
Below is an excerpt from the “Analysis and Conclusion” section of the report:
…Up until the accident, the firefighting professionals involved in the Coal Canyon Fire reasoned the risks of engaging and suppressing this fire to be relatively low and the benefits of direct suppression to be worth this low risk. After considerable review of the incident, including the leadership, qualifications, training, interagency cooperation, fuels, weather, the organization, and local policies, the SAI team has concluded that the judgments and decisions of the firefighters involved in the Coal Canyon Fire were appropriate.
Firefighters all performed within the leaders’ intent and scope of duty, as defined by their respective organizations. The team did not find any reckless actions or egregious violations of policy or protocol. In fact, the SAI Team found the actions of the firefighters involved with the Coal Canyon Fire to be fully consistent with local and national policy and meeting the intent of leadership expectations. Many decisions and actions on the Coal Canyon Fire were manifestly heroic, demonstrating the best of wildland fire professionalism.
The report has very little in the way of analysis and recommendations. Later the investigation team intends to produce separate documents focused on learning from this tragedy. Those documents will provide an Expanded Narrative and an in-depth Discussion and Analysis around human variability, risk management and resilience, as well as additional considerations and recommendations.
Wildfire Today covered the fire, the fatality, the severely burned firefighter, and Trampus’ funeral services, which were attended by approximately 1,700 firefighters and other mourners. A procession of over 130 fire department vehicles escorted Trampus to the cemetery. We recorded most of the procession on video. An earlier version of this article misidentified one of the firefighters that was in the entrapped engine. Wildfire Today regrets the error.
