Three Wildland Firefighters Killed

I know that fighting wildfires is dangerous, and I am always saddened to hear that wildland firefighters have died fighting wildfires. I read over the weekend that three wildland firefighters died fighting the Cottonwood wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border. As I write this, according to ABC4 Utah the Cottonwood Fire has burned around 94,000 acres with little or no containment (a direct link to the video may be found below the embedded video.

 I offer my condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the deceased wildland firefighters. 

Direct link to June 29th video from ABC4 Utah

 

June 29th, 2:40 PM update 

On July 29th Wildfire Today has a post identifying the names of the three wildland firefighters who died on the Cottonwood Fire; Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson. Please read the Wildfire Today article for more information about the deceased wildland firefighters.

Aeroflite Scoopers Working a Wildfire

Two Super Scoopers working a wildfire in the United States, deployed from Pangborn.

2026 Florida Wildfire Season: Southwest Florida (June 22nd)

As some of you know I have an affinity for Florida because I had the privilege of spending some time in Florida several years ago, but more importantly because I have some friends and acquaintance in Florida. This article dated June 22nd from the WGCU weather center got my attention so I am both sharing the link with you as well as summarizing a few wildfires as of June 22nd in Lee County in southwest Florida: 

1. Winding Cypress Way in Collier County, no acreage available; 

2. Two larger wildfires in the Myakka State Forest were at 95 percent containment; 

3. Orange Hammock Ranch, Sarasota County. 100 acres, 90 containment; 

4. Glades County, Platt Trap Fire, 275 acres, 50 percent containment; 

5. Charlotte County, North Fort Myers-Charlotte Fire, 130 acres, 25 percent containment. 

Read the article I linked to do for more information.

About the New Jersey Forest Fire Service

As many of you know I have a lot of respect for the various wildfire agencies, on the ground and in the air, that fight wildfires in the United States and elsewhere. As a resident of New Jersey, I am sure that my followers know that I have a lot of respect and gratitude for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for fighting wildfires in New Jersey and when called upon working wildfires elsewhere in the United States. 

The subject of my blog on wildfires and the role the NJ Forest Fire Service plays in fighting wildfires in New Jersey came up recently in a conversation with a friend that prompted me to make this post today. I share this April 6th video here from NJ Advance Media to let them speak about how the NJ Forest Fire Service works wildfires in New Jersey.

Direct link to April 6th video from NJ.com (aka NJ Advance Media) on YouTube

Juneteenth

I honor Juneteenth, June 19, and the significance of this holiday.

Direct link to video from Ted Ed on Youtube

2026 California Wildfire Season: PG&E Helicopters to support aerial firefighting

Direct link to June 16th KPIX video on YouTube

I was pleased to see the video that I shared above where I learned that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) will be used during the 2026 wildfire season in the Bay Area in aerial operations to fight wildfires. Helicopters such as PG&E's helicopter fleet are an important addition to support the wildland firefighters on the ground in the Bay Area of California. 

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season

I saw a post from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook the other day reporting on the 2025 Wildfire Season in New Jersey that I am embedding below. To summarize, there were 1,322 wildfires in 2025 in New Jersey that burned 27,229 acres. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service 2025 Wildfire Report may be found here.

 

Friday Fun: New Cal Fire C-130

 Cal Fire has a new C-130 has joined their airtanker aersonal and is or was stationed at Ramona in southern California, see this article from the County News Center for more information. While I always like to see additional airtankers deployed anywhere in the United States and elsewhere, I have family and friends in southern California so I am especially happy to know that Cal Fire's new C-130 is currently deployed at Ramona. See this page for more information about Cal Fire's C-130s.

The video that I embed below shows footage of the new C-130 and other aircraft fighting a wildfire near the Sorrento fire that is now 100 percent contained at 90 acres.

 

Direct link to June 8th video from San Diego Slackers on YouTube

 

More on Fire Towers in New Jersey

I am a fan of fire towers in New Jersey because the spotters in the towers help to spot and report wildfires, sometimes when they are still small. On a section of the Appalachian Trail in Warren County NJ where I used to hike when I had better knees, I would pass the Catfish Fire Tower (go here to see a photo). Knowing the good work that fire tower observers in New Jersey do, I was very pleased to see this report on NJ fire towers from WHYY. 

Direct link to June 5th video from WHYY on Youtube.

2026 Wildfire Season: Aeroflite Tankers on Contract in Washington

 

As we are in to spring and early summer wildfire season, I do try to follow, as I can, where Airtankers are currently based. I saw this post from AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook a week ago. I believe but am not 100 percent certain that at least one of the airtankers they are referring to are Dash 8-400 AT airtankers

I am glad to see that these two AeroFlite airankers were based in Washington week ago, I hope they are still there.

Direct link to May 26th Facebook post from AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook