wrapping up BAER and hydromulching, and what's next

As I sit here in the early stages of yet another snow event affecting the mid-Atlantic region, I have been wondering how I was going to wrap up this series of posts on burned area emergency response (BAER) and aerial hydromulching operations. I'm not sure that I have all that much to say. For I think that the videos that I embedded speak for themselves.

That being said, I find myself thinking that aerial wildland firefighting often times does not stop with tankers dropping retardant or water-foam on wildfires. In some areas where the burn has been severe and/or erosion can be a real problem, aircraft such as the AT-802 and the Erickson Air Crane perform an important role in post-fire rehabilitation. So, as time goes on, I will periodically revisit BAER progress after wildland fires, including but not necessarily limited to aerial hydromulching operations.

As for what's next, I have continued to correspond with Larry Kraus, pilot-in-command of tanker -62, one of Butler Aircraft's DC-7 tankers that will be under contract with the Oregon Dept. of Forestry later this year. I'll be make a few more posts on the DC-7 tanker next week into early the following week. Stay tuned!

Hydromulching: k-max

I enjoyed this short video of the Kaman K-Max helicopter performing hydromulch operations on Starky Slope near Parachute, Colorado. According to the information on youtube, the area being hydromulched is over or near a pipeline owned by Williams Gas. While it appears that this particular hydromulching operation may not be related post-fire rehabilitation, it does suggest that the K-max helicopter can be used in Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) related hydromulching operations

Hydromulching: Erickson Aircrane

This is a slightly shorter version of a video from Erickson Air Crane showing how the "Crane is used in hydromulching operations. The footage shown is of hydromuclhing operations of Griffith Park after a 2007 wildfire. The complete version of the video may be viewed at this location, you will have to scroll down and select the "hydroseeding" video.

Firebreak to be constructed in Barnegat NJ (in the Pine Barrens)

The last large wildfire that burned in the New Jersey Pine Barrens was the Warren Grove Fire that burned over 15,000 acres in May of 2007. In January 2009, I wrote about a couple of trips I took to the Pine Barrens with references to the Warren Grove Fire and posted some photos of how the area has come back after the fire, go here to read this post.

Among the areas affected by this fire were clusters of residences in Barnegat and Stafford Townships NJ. These communities adopted a fire safety plan in November of 2008 that included the construction of firebreaks. Someone recently sent me this article from the Asbury Park Press about a planned firebreak along Pancoast Road on the border of Barnegat and Ocean Townships in New Jersey. I believe that this firebreak may have been a part of the fire safety plan passed in November 2008.

Note that this article may only be freely available until this Thursday, Feb. 25. The article says in part:

A nearly three-mile long fire break to protect adult communities in Barnegat got a green light Friday from the state Pinelands Commission, a step toward what fire wardens say will be a 200-foot wide selective thinning of a dense pine-oak forest along Pancoast Road on the boundary of Barnegat and Ocean townships.

The plan is similar to a project along Hay Road in Stafford, and likewise inspired by the great May 2007 forest fire that forced thousands to evacuate their homes west of the Garden State Parkway. Since then, the commission, the state Forest Fire Service and municipal officials have been working with community groups to be better prepared against wildfires.

The plan was presented last weekend to one community meeting in Barnegat, where a longtime resident told of a 1928 fire that destroyed his family's home, division fire warden Gergory McLaughlin recounted to commissioners Friday at their monthly meeting in Pemberton Township.

In the event of another major blaze, "this fire break is our last ditch attempt to protect those communities and our firefighters," McLaughlin said. ...

The plan is to selectively remove trees up to 200 feet from the north side of Pancoast Road, along 2.9 miles, and create "a more open, park-like forest," and lower the shrub height somewhat but not completely clearing to the ground, McLaughlin said. That aims to reduce the "fire ladder" of flammable low growth that can light the fuse for a fast-moving "crown fire" that burns high in the forest canopy and quickly skips from tree to tree, he explained. State foresters would periodically maintain the fire break to manage its growth density and fuel levels.

(Kirk Moore "Fire-break planned along Barnegat-Waretown line" Asbury Park Press, February 19, 2009, obtained on February 21, 2009 from http://www.app.com/article/20100219/NEWS/100219115/Fire-break-planned-along-Barnegat-Waretown-line).

What is a firebreak? According to the Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) a firebreak is a natural or constructed barrier used to stop or check fires that may occur, or to provide a control line from which to work.

In an ideal situation, I would of waited a couple of more days to post this to allow myself time to try and find out some more information for you. But if I did that then I risked having an expired link in my article, so I am posting this today. If I am able to find more information on this firebreak, I'll make some follow-up posts.

In the meantime, I'll be making a couple of more posts on BAER and hydromulching so stay tuned.

Hydromulching: BAER for 2002 Hayman Fire (CO)

To wrap up, for now, these articles on BAER and hydromulching, I am posting some information about the Burned Area Emergency Response, in particular hydromulching, after the 2002 Hayman Fire in Colorado, the largest fire in Colorado history. This human caused fire burned 137,000 acres southwest of Denver. Before moving to the BAER efforts, please take eight to nine minutes and watch the video that I embedded, a compilation of photos from the North Fork (CO) Volunteer Fire Department.

A map of the area burned by the Hayman Fire and rehabilitation areas may be found here.

The International Erosion Control Association reports on their efforts in hydromulching in an article with pictures that may be found here. Note that the Erickson Air Crane was used in these hydromulching operations. There is also a picture vegetation returning after seven growing seasons to an area that was burned in 1996.

There is some good information on some specific BAER efforts from the Coalition for the Upper South Platte with details on aerial and ground operations, and some links to some links to some videos (at the bottom of the webpage) that may be found here, and you might want to check out the Hayman Fire burn severity map.

A 2003 article from cyberwest magazine with more information about hydromulching and other aspects of BAER for the Hayman burn may be found here.

November 19, 2015: Many of the URLs that I included when I first wrote the artcile are no longer active. I have crossed out the references to the invalid links.

Angora Fire Recovery Aerial Hydromulch (part 2)

Angora Fire Recovery Aerial Hydromulch

This is the first of a two part video showing aerial hydromulching operations after the Angora Fire. Five AT-802's were used in these hydromulching operations, flying over 3,200 loads of hydromulch. In addition to watching the hydromulching operations you will see some nice footage of the AT-802 in action.

Enjoy! I will post part 2 in my next post.

More on hydromulch: Jesusita Fire

In this video you will find out more about what hydromulch is, why it works, and how it is loaded onto the AT-802.

Hydromulching: Jesusita Fire

The Jesusita Fire burned over 8,700 acres in Santa Barbara County, California in May of 2009. Last fall Santa Barbara County and Los Padres National Forest performed aerial hydromulching operations on areas burned by the fire. Simply, hydromulch -- one component of the Burned Area Emergency Response -- is applied to burned areas to prevent damage from erosion and runoff during the time it takes for new plant life to grow back.

Information on Santa Barbara County's hydromulching, that took place last September may be found here, including an FAQ page with more information on hydromulch, some photos of hydromulch, a map of the Jesusita fire hydromulch areas, and a link to the you tube video that I embedded here.

Information on the USFS hydromulching applications in areas burned by the Jesusita Fire in Los Padres National Forest may be found here.

And speaking of the Air Tractor 802A, you will see in the video that the AT-802 was used for hydromulching. I enjoyed watching these AT-802A's go through their paces.

I'll be embedding some more videos of aerial hydromulching applications later this week, so stay tuned.

November 19, 2015: Unfortunately, all of the links with the exception of the embedded youtube video are inactive (or dead links). 

Burned Area Emergency Response: Mill Flat Fire, Utah

The Mill Flats Fire, caused by lightening, burned over 12,500 acres in southern Utah last summer. 100 percent containment was achieved on September 7, 2009. At the time that I wrote this article, information on the burned area emergency response for the Mill Flat Fire was the subject of a report from KCSG News in southern Utah. Unfortunately, the video has since been removed and is no longer available.

Edited and revised on November 19, 2015

About Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation/Response (BAER)

I was writing about the other day about mudslides in the La Canada area of southern California burned by the Station Fire in late summer/early fall 2009. If you go to this inciweb report on the fire (dated Nov. 10, 2009), you will see a summary of the status of the fire, and reporting that the fire was fully contained on Oct. 16, 2009. You will also see that the report mentions three phases of rehabilitation following a fire:

• fire suppression repair
• burned area emergency response (baer)
• long-term recovery

A summary of these stages of rehabilitation may be found here. The Angeles National Forest is in the area burned by the Station Fire, and has a webpage devoted to the Station Fire Burned Area Emergency Response that may be found here.

Of interest is that fact that while the Station Fire was contained in October of 2009, the fire will not be fully controlled until after the winter rainy season ends. Moreover, the potential for damaging mud slides will exist for three to five years. The burned area of the forest is closed to the public except for residents of the area. For more information on these and other points see this FAQ on the Angeles National Forest Station Fire.

More specific information about what the Burned Area Emergency Response is may be found here.

Stay tuned for more on BAER.

November 19, 2015: I am able to revise a couple of links on this page. Unfortunately, I am not able to revise one outdate link and have crossed out that information. I am never quite certain how long links are available, especially after a few years have passed.

Mudslides in southern California

Wildland fires, such as those that burned in southern California last summer and autumn leave denuded areas, that is all the vegetation that holds hillsides together has been burned off. Until reseeding and mulching efforts on these denuded areas have a chance to take, rains can lead to mudslides. And heavy winter rains while helping to alleviate drought conditions in California have lead to mudslides.

There were more mudslides this past weekend in southern California near La Canada Flintridge, burned by the Station Fire in 2009. The LA CBS affiliate has a nice slide show that may be found here. An LA Times article on the mudslides may be found here.

Thank-you Queen Bee and Moving on

I am, for the moment at least moving on. I am, at least for the time being, finished with my series of articles on "Up close with the AT-802 with the help of Queen Bee".

Before doing so, I'd like to thank all the folk at Queen Bee for your time in the form of e-mails, photos, and a telephone conversation. Thank-you!! I know that we will be in touch again, which I am looking forward to. And when that happens, I'll be writing more here.

In the next period of time, I'll be writing about a potpourri of either wildland fire and/or aerial wildland firefighting issues and/or more general aviation issues. With a little fun stuff thrown in such as the shovel-cam video that I posted the other day.

Up close with the AT-802 with the help of Queen Bee: About flying fires

In my wonderings on the web recently, I found a couple of articles on how the AT-802's are used for flying fires. I think that they are both appropriate for this series, so I am sharing them with you. In the first article (from SWAviator online), a twenty-year veteran fire fighters gets up close and personal with the AT-802. The second article is from The National Agricultural Aviation Association, and you will hear from SEAT Contractors and BLM officials about how SEATs are used with a focus on the AT-802.

Here is another drop from an AT-802, this time on a fire in Croatia.

Now I've seen everything

Snowstorm shovel-cam

Up close with the AT-802 with the help of Queen Bee: Hatfield Constant Flow Gate System

Queen Bee has two AT-802's with the Hatfield Constant Flow Gate System. This is a more recent entry into the arena of SEAT gate systems. Like both generations of the FRDS, this Hatfield Gate is a constant flow retardant delivery system. According to the 2009 edition of the Interagency SEAT Operations Guide (p.39) the Hatfield Gate achieved interim approval of the Interagency Airtanker Board in 2009. I don't know more specific information about the operation of this Hatfield gate, when I do, I will post something here. In the meantime, Go here for some generalized information on how constant flow retardant delivery systems work.

Note: The Bureau of Land Management maintains a nice webpage on Single Engine Airtankers where I found the link for the 2009 edition of the Interagency SEAT Operations Guide (ISOG). They also have links to wealth of other information on SEAT operations. I mention this because I am thinking that the ISOG may be revised this year for 2010 in which case the link for the 2009 edition of the ISOG will expire. The BLM SEAT Operations webpage may be found here.

Thanks to my friends at Queen Bee for the photos!

Up close with the AT-802 with the help of Queen Bee: FRDS-I Gate System

Here is some information that I obtained from the Air Tractor website about the first generation Air Tractor Fire Retardant Delivery System (FRDS), a constant flow retardant delivery system, used by Queen Bee. Air Tractor is now into the second generation of the FRDS.

Introduction:
The Air Tractor Fire Retardant Delivery System, or FRDS, is an electrically controlled, hydraulically actuated constant flow airtanker door system. System operational parameters allow multiple constant flow drop capability at coverage levels between 0.5 and 4.0 gcf, with a maximum flow, or "full coverage" rate approaching coverage level 6.
Operation:
The system is operated by an onboard PLC (Programmable Logic Computer) which receives input from a pilot interface panel in the cockpit, the drop trigger, and various internal sensors. During a typical mission, the pilot will select the amount to drop (in 50 gallon increments) the desired coverage level (in 0.5 gcf increments) and ground speed. He then will arm the system and close the drop trigger when needed. The PLC will control the drop using sensors for door angle, flow rate, and acceleration to meter the retardant flow, closing automatically when the preset amount has been dropped. The system incorporates a "learning" algorithm to compensate for errors caused by wear, material viscosity, etc., making the coverage level self calibrating. In addition to the full automatic drop mode described above, a manual automatic mode is also available through the PLC. In this mode the PLC retains control of the flow rate to ensure accurate coverage level while the length of line, or drop quantity, is controlled by the pilot by simply holding the drop trigger closed for the desired distance. This mode is useful in operational situations such as when the pilot is instructed to "Put a line from the road to the rocks." The requested line can be dropped with minimum waste, saving the remaining
retardant for other targets.
Redundancy:
A redundant PLC is installed which provides for backup electronic control in a simplified manual mode. This system provides for continued operation in the event of a failure of the primary PLC unit. A mechanically operated pneumatic emergency jettison system is also installed which utilizes compressed air from a reservoir to force the doors open in the event of an in-flight emergency.
Components:
The FRDS consists of dual, centerline mounted, longitudinally hinged, overcentering type doors driven by a rotary type hydraulic actuator powered by a 3000psi electric hydraulic system with an accumulator. The system is controlled by a PLC via electric hydraulic controls and sensors for hydraulic pressure, door angle, door lock, acceleration, and tank quantity. Operation is controlled with a pilot interface panel in the cockpit. An 18 gallon class A foam tank, electric gauge, and automatic foam injector pump and controller are also mounted.

Obtained from the Air Tractor website on February 6, 2009. Note: The link that I used in last February no longer active, probably because Air Tractor is now into the second generation FRDS. Thanks to my friends at Queen Bee for the photos!

 

  

 

 

Up close with the AT-802 with the help of Queen Bee: Loading retardant

As I understand it the valves used for loading retardant in the AT-802F -- 3 inch male kamlock couplers -- are standard in airtankers. The federal SEAT contracts require dual valves, so that retardant can be loaded from either side of the aircraft. When used in the "agricultural configuration, there is only one valve, on the left side of the aircraft.

Thanks to my friends at Queen Bee for the photos!