Bell 412 lands in water after tail rotor strike while refilling water bucket

The tail rotor of a Bell 412 struck a tree while it was attempting to refill its water bucket February 26, 2019 in the northwest part of Spain. The firefighting helicopter (EC-MAQ) operated by Babcock settled upright in a couple of feet of water in the Narcea River in Belmonte de Miranda, Asturias (map).

Photos show damage to the tail rotor. There were no reported injuries.

That’s ONE way to refill and drop water

I could not at first believe my lying eyes the first time I saw this video of a helicopter pilot in Spain refilling and then dropping water on a fire.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Isaac.
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German ‘hippy’ sentenced to prison for deadly island wildfire

The 27-year-old German cave-dweller who ignited a deadly wildfire while burning used toilet paper on a Spanish island has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Scott Verdine Stumpf admitted last year to accidentally starting the August fire while burning used toilet paper — Spanish media outlets reported he had been living in a nearby cave for an extended period of time. In addition to prison, he was ordered to pay the equivalent of about $2 million U.S. dollars in restitution, local media outlets reported.

The wildfire blackened about 5,000 acres and forced hundreds of evacuations on La Palma, a landmass that is part of Spain’s Canary Islands. Francisco Jose Santana, a park ranger and married father of five, died during firefighting operations.

Large wildfire burns homes at Javea, Spain

A large wildfire on Spain’s Mediterranean coast has destroyed structures and forced 1,000 residents and holiday makers to evacuate.

The fire started Sunday in the Javea area, a popular tourist resort at Costa Blanca and was attacked by 300 firefighters and 20 water-dropping aircraft. They had the fire temporarily knocked down, but after sunset when the aircraft were grounded it picked up again. The fire was still active Monday morning.

According to the The Telegraph, the fire was started deliberately in three spots between Javea and Benitachell and has burned approximately 20 homes. The army has been called in to assist firefighters.

map fire Javea Spain
The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite as a wildfire burned near Javea, Spain.
Map Javea fire
This 3-D Map shows the approximate area where the Javea fire burned September 4 and 5, 2016. This is a very rough estimate, based on the satellite data. Click to enlarge.

The fire started on one of the hottest days of the year when the temperature reached 40ºC (104ºF).

Many people have posted information on Twitter about the fire, including BBC media personality Chris Stark, who sounds like the actor Hugh Grant in a couple of videos he has uploaded about the fire. Apparently he was on holiday in the area. We can’t embed Twitter videos, but you can see them here. For a while he thought that perhaps his apartment and car had burned, but at the last report they were spared.

Chris Stark
Chris Stark. A screenshot from one of his videos posted Monday morning, U.S. time.

The video below is a drive through a residential area in which the fire burned.

Helicopter pilot killed while fighting fire in Spain

A helicopter pilot was killed on Wednesday December 23 while fighting a fire in Spain. According to the AFP the helicopter caught fire after it crashed in a rural area in the Asturias region.

When rescuers arrived the pilot, the sole occupant, was already deceased, local emergency services personnel reported.

Wildland firefighters in Spain strike as fires burn

It was only a few days ago that we told you about some wildland firefighters in Spain, the BRIF (reinforcement brigade forest fire). Now they are on strike.

Below is an excerpt from an article at The Local:

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“Over 800 people were evacuated from the villages of Ca l’Esteve, El Bosc Gran and Monserrat Parc in Ódena near Barcelona, after wildfires broke out over the weekend.

At least 1,000 hectares of vegetation have been destroyed by the fire, which broke out on Sunday afternoon. While the fire continues to rage, firefighters have stabilized the perimeter ensuring the flames did not expand further overnight, according to the Spanish Huffington Post.

The evacuated residents were spread out over neighbouring villages, where they souht refuge overnight in a basketball arena and a library, quickly set up to accommodate them.

To make matters worse, firefighters from Spain’s forest firefightingservice (BRIF) began an indefinite strike on Monday in protest against working conditions and low pay. It is the first time such a strike has taken place while wildfires sweep vast areas of Spain, the association of forest firefighters, Atbrif, said in a statement on its website.

“Is it fair that we make such a ridiculously paltry amount while we put our lives at risk?” the firefighters’ association said.

The association is meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment in Madrid on Monday.”

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