Strong winds and low humidities created difficult conditions for firefighters
Continue readingA wildfire northwest of Topeka prompts evacuations at Delia
Firefighters in Kansas are battling a large wildfire that started about 17 miles northwest of Topeka, southeast of St Marys near highway 24. Strong winds out of the south-southwest have pushed the fire toward Delia which is under an evacuation order.
Smoke and poor visibility may have contributed to a vehicle collision on Highway 24 which injured one person and totaled the car.
At 1:54 p.m. Wednesday the fire had burned from Shawnee County into Jackson County.
An S-2 Air Tanker, T-95, is assisting firefighters by dropping water. Personnel from the Manhattan Fire Department have been refilling it at the airport.
The area is under a Red Flag Warning for strong winds and low humidity. Wednesday afternoon at St Marys the wind was out of the south-southwest at 20 to 24 mph gusting at 27 to 39 mph, with the relative humidity around 30 percent. The forecast is for breezy conditions to continue through Thursday but the humidity will rise into the 40s Thursday.
Wildfire Today’s very rough and unofficial estimate is that the fire had burned at least 1,000 acres at 1:54 p.m. CT, Nov. 18, 2020. KSNT reported it started just before 1 p.m.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.
Air tankers photographed at Medford during the Badger Fire
Tanker 91, an S-2T (N482DF), at Medford, OR July 18, 2020 by Tim Crippin.Tim Crippin shot these photos of air tankers at Medford, Oregon July 18, 2020 while the aircraft were assisting firefighters on the Badger Fire burning near Yreka, California.
Thanks Tim!
The S-2Ts are operated by CAL FIRE and the BAe-146 by Neptune Aviation.
Tanker 94, an S-2T (N442DF), at Medford, OR July 18, 2020 by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 01, a BAe-146 (N473NA), at Medford, OR July 18, 2020 by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 90, an S-2T (N434DF), at Medford, OR July 18, 2020 by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 95, an S-2T (N448DF), at Medford, OR July 18, 2020 by Tim Crippin.EWB Fire burns thousands of acres in southern Kansas
The fire was approximately 18 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge
Continue readingS-2 air tanker assists firefighter in Oklahoma
The aircraft was formerly operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Continue readingStructures burn in Oklahoma wildfire
A fire in the panhandle has burned over 29,000 ares
Continue readingS-2 air tanker used on wildfire in Kansas
It is believed to be the first time a large air tanker has been deployed on a non-federal wildfire in Kansas
Continue readingPhotos of air tankers at Medford supporting the Milepost 97 Fire
Tanker 62 at Medford, Oregon July 27, 2019. Photo by Tim Crippin.Tim Crippin got these excellent shots of air tankers that were at Medford, Oregon July 27, 2019 supporting the Milepost 97 Fire south of Canyonville. Thanks Tim! The fire has burned 12,578 acres since it started on July 24, 2019.
Tanker 95 at Medford, Oregon July 27, 2019. Photo by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 88 at Medford, Oregon July 27, 2019. Photo by Tim Crippin.
Tanker 134 at Medford, Oregon July 27, 2019. Photo by Tim Crippin.An S-2 air tanker is ready to fight fire in Kansas
Bill Garrison’s S-2 air tanker. Screenshot from the KWCH video below.The owner of a crop dusting service in Kansas has acquired an S-2 air tanker formerly operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
Bill Garrison, owner of Ag Air Service out of Nikerson, Kansas, said that after he used his crop dusters in 2017 to aid firefighters by dropping water on wildfires, he decided he wanted a bigger airplane.
KWCH reported that the Kansas Forest Service has a call when needed agreement to use the plane on fires for $4,000 an hour.
The aircraft was constructed as an S-2A, according to aerialvisuals.ca, with the BuNo 136508. CAL FIRE operated it as Tanker 81 and 93 with registration number N477DF. At some point the tanker number changed to 95, the number still used today, and was owned by Yesterday’s Flyers and later, Cactus Air Force, both in Nevada. The current registration number is N508JR under the ownership of Mr. Garrison, with a certificate issue date of February 14, 2019.
The aircraft can carry up to 800 gallons and still has the radial engines, unlike the S-2s operated by CAL FIRE today that have been converted to turbine engines.
Mr. Garrison said he used one of the company’s planes in 2017 to drop 20,000 gallons of water on the Highlands Fire in Reno County, chipping in to help when the Kansas National Guard Blackhawk helicopter pilots ran out of duty time. Below is an excerpt from Hutch News published March 12, 2017:
Because of the high winds he was forced to fly into – the same winds whipping the fire out of control – he had to fly as close to the ground as possible, or the wind would blow the water off the fire, he said. “At times, I had fire above the aircraft,” Garrison said. “We were pushing the upper limits with the wind Monday night.”
Click here to see the CAL FIRE air tanker that today has the T-95 designator.
(UPDATED at 2:05 p.m PDT July 31, 2019)
After we posted this article, JD Davis sent us the two photos below of CAL FIRE air tankers with registration number N477DF. Thanks JD!
CAL Fire Air Tanker N477DF at Hemet, CA June 10, 1979. JD Davis Photos.
CAL Fire Air Tanker N477DF at Hemet, CA October 23, 2003. JD Davis Photos.Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Air tankers at Medford during Lumgrey Fire
Air Tanker 96 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.Tim Crippin sent us these photos he took at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019 of air tankers working the Lumgrey Fire on the Klamath National Forest in Northern California.
Thanks Tim!
Air Tanker 160 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.
Air Tanker 94 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.
Air Tankers 94 and 95 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.
Air Tanker 163 at Medford, Oregon June 17, 2019. Tim Crippin.