Friday Fun: Washington Army National Guard Working Wildfires in Washington

Direct link to August 5th video from VBS Defense on YouTube

I enjoyed watching this short video of the 96th Aviation Troop Command,Washington Army National Guard flying to help the wildland firefighters on the ground battle the wildfires in eastern Washington

2026 Wildfire Season: NJ Wildland Firefighters Deployed Across United States

Direct link to August 11th video on NBC10 Philadlephia

Just about every summer since I started this blog over 20 years ago New Jersey Forest Fire Service wildland firefighting crews are deployed across the United States to help wildland firefighters in other states fight wildfires. This deployment does not affect the ability of the NJ Forest Fire Service to fight wildfires in New Jersey as there are crews available to fight wildfires in New Jersey.

Smokey the Bear turned 82 on August 9th

If I am correct Smokey the Bear turned 82 on August 9th, meaning that he first appeared 82 years ago in 1924. I do not quite recall when I first learned about Smokey the Bear, but he remains on my mind, especially over the 22 years I have been doing this blog. I feel like my words are wholly inadequate. But I hope that you look at the link I provided of Smokey thru the years. I found a short video of Smokey flying over the New Jersey shore that I believe was shared on NJ.com this morning, hlu should be able to find the video here.

Friday Fun: Grade Fire (San Diego CA) Aerial Firefighting

Direct link to July 31st video from Ocotillo Outlaws on YouTube

Footage from Ocotillo Outlaws of aerial firefighting over Grade Fire in east San Diego County on July 31st. Sorry for the small size of the video, you can enlarge the video to full screen by clicking the arrows to the right.

National Night Out: New Jersey Forest Fire Service Helicopter Delta6

Direct link to August 5th video from MySussex on YouTube

I am aware of National Night Out the first Tuesday of August, as I see signage and social media posts about local events on that day. National Night Out recognizes the work that police and fire departments (including wildland fire agencies) do to keep us safe. In the video that I embedded, you will see NJ Forest Fire Service helicopter, Delta 6, which is stationed at Aeroflex-Andover Airport in Andover in Sussex County NJ during the wildfire season. Delta 6 provides valuable support to wildland firefighers in northern New Jersey during New Jersey's wildfire season.

2026 Wildfire Season: Two Fiefighting Helicopters in a Mid-Air Over Greece

Direct link to August 2nd video from Sky News on YouTube

I want to thank my friends at the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10 website for sharing a video about the mid-air firefighting helicopter collision and crash on their home page. I understand that two people on one of the helicopters died while two on the other helicopter survived and were taken to the hospital. There will be an investigation into the cause of the mid-air crash. I offer my prayers for the two who died as well as the two who survived and are in the hospital. For more information about this crash please see this August 2nd report from Sky News

Friday Fun: Air Tractor Music Video

Direct link to March 2007 video from Aggieman1125 on YouTube

 I saw this great video on YouTube just now, the video was done in March 2007 by aggieman1125. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.

2026 Wildfire Season: Wildfires Continue to Burn in Southwest Europe

Direct link to July 28th video from NBC News on YouTube 

I knew from my newsfeed that wildfires are burning in Spain and France. The July 28th video that I shared above provides a nice overview of these fires. 

I just heard a nice report from NPR about this fire, unfortunately I am unable to link to that report, but there is a July 29th report on the NPR site that I can link to, the NPR report may be found here. 

In this post I am referring to the July 29th article on NPR linked to earlier. Evacuations in France continue with at least 60,000 residents evacuated as a precaution. This may be the among the largest peacetime evacuations in French history. Total evacuations in France and Spain total approximately 330,000 people. 

In Spain, 79,000 people evacuated over the weekend and evacuation orders for 20,000 were lifted Tuesday night with stay-at-home orders lifted for an additional 14,000 people.

Fire fighters on the ground in France and Spain are being assisted by aerial firefighting aircraft. 

2026 Wildfire Season: July 26th Update on Wildfires in Northern Minnesota

Progress continues in fighting the wildfires in Northern Minnesota. See the video from Fox9 for more information Direct link to July 26th video from Fox9 Minneapolis- St.Paul Minnesota

2026 Wildfire Season: Progress in Fighting Northern Minnesota Wildfires (July 23rd)

Direct link to July 23 video from Fox 9 Minneapolis St. Paul I am happy to report that some progess is being made in fighting wildfires in northern Minnesota, but wildfires are still active and it may be awhile before they are contained. See the video that I shared from Fox 9 Minneapolis St. Paul for more information