Importance of safe aerial operations

I had hoped to be able to begin writing today about some of the other weather conditions and visibility limitations that can ground fire fighting aircraft. This would be a nice follow-up to my recent posts about winds. My idea was to begin by writing about fog, so I have spent some time over the three days or so reading more about fog and then look at other weather conditions and visibility limitations that can ground air tankers.

As sometimes happens, I found that I need more time before I am ready to write about fog, other visibility limitations that can ground air operations. I have written about winds grounding aerial fire fighting operations, and I suspect that there are other weather related conditions that can ground air operations. Thunderstorms come to mind, and perhaps there are more.

But while I do need more time before I can write about some of these issues in more detail, I do want to emphasize the importance of safety. Tankers and helicopters will not fly when conditions are present -- high winds, turbulence, fog, thunderstorms, other visibility restrictions, etc. -- that will jeopardize safe aerial firefighting operations.

While I am learning more about fog, inversions, thunderstorms and the like, I will continue to write about other topics. For example, I have promised some friends that I will write more about some of the different types of helicopters used in firefighting. I will begin doing so on Monday.

In the meantime, I want to leave you with this thought:

Lives are not replaceable.