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Tag: Sunshine Fire

Tanker 12 made quick turnarounds at wildfire in Colorado

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

(This article first appeared on Fire Aviation.)

Tanker 12, the BAe-146 air tanker working the Sunshine Fire near Boulder, Colorado on March 19, was dropping retardant about every 35 minutes, according to Rob McClure of the CBS TV station in Denver.

After a million acres burned in Kansas and Oklahoma on March 6 and 7, the National Interagency Fire Center mobilized three large air tankers on March 10, a little earlier than usual, sending Tanker 12 to the Jeffco Air Tanker base at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and two others to the OK/KS area.

It turned out that Jeffco was only 12 miles southwest of where the Sunshine Fire started on March 19 near Boulder, Colorado. Rob McClure of CBS4 in Denver timed the interval between drops made by the BAe-146, determining it to be about 35 minutes.

Sunshine Fire Boulder
The Sunshine Fire was 12 miles northwest of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (in the foreground).

From the air tanker base the pilots could probably see the fire soon after it started. If they took off from runway 30R they would be heading straight at the fire.

In addition to Tanker 12, four helicopters and Colorado’s Multi-mission aircraft were working the incident.

Three National Guard helicopters were made available by a verbal executive order by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper hours after the fire started. The aircraft, from Buckley Air Force Base, included two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, one CH-47 Chinook helicopter, as well as a refueling truck.

Sunshine Fire
Sunshine Fire near Boulder, Colorado. Boulder Office of Emergency Management photo.

Firefighters limited the wildland/urban interface fire to about 74 acres according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management. We were not there but this appears to have been a pretty aggressive initial attack, an aspect of firefighting along the Front Range that has improved in the last couple of years.

The video below was shot March 19 from the Multi-mission aircraft, showing normal and infrared images.

Sunshine Fire near Boulder, Colorado

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Above: Sunshine Fire near Boulder Colorado. Photo by Colorado’s Multi-mission Aircraft.

(UPDATED at 10:45 a.m. MDT March 20, 2017)

The pre-evacuation and mandatory evacuation orders west of Boulder, Colorado for the Sunshine Fire have been lifted.

The strong winds predicted for Sunday night did not occur and firefighters have been able to contain the fire within hand-built firelines, roads, and retardant dropped from aircraft.

Colorado’s front range between Colorado Springs and the Wyoming border is the only area on Monday under a Red Flag Warning.

wildfire Red Flag Warning
Red Flag Warning March 20, 2017.

ABC’s Good Morning America devoted over two minutes on Monday to the fire in Colorado and the wildfire danger in the United States.

ABC
ABC

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(Originally published at 5:47 p.m. MDT March 19, 2017)

The Sunshine Fire on the west side of Boulder, Colorado has burned about 62 acres since it started early Sunday morning and has required the evacuation of 426 homes. The spread slowed late Sunday afternoon thanks to the work of firefighters on the ground, several helicopters, and at least one air tanker.

wildfire Red Flag Warning
The Boulder area was under a Red Flag Warning on Sunday.