SEATs working small fires

I want to take a moment to pause and acknowledge the all important work that aerial firefighters do making drops on fires that are under five acres. You might be a SEAT, a helo with a bucket, a CAL FIRE S-2, or another type of tanker. It might be only be one drop. It doesn't matter. I know you are there. You work in support of the ground troops and together you have kept the fire small before it can grow into something larger.

I know you are there, even if I don't read any reports about your work on small fires. I caught a break today as I was looking for articles about small fires, hopefully where either an airtanker or a helo had worked the fire. I found two articles about small fires in Colorado on the Michael Archer's Firebombers Publications Blog.

He linked to an article from The SummitDaily (9/5/12) in his September 6 post about a SEAT working a fire in the Big Thompson Canyon, estimated at three to five acres.

On September 7, he linked to an article from The Gazette in Colorado Springs (9/6/12) where a SEAT dropped on a small fire in the area of Pike's Peak in Colorado.

Both articles happened to be referring to SEATs making a drop. But you could of just as easily been a helo with a bucket or another type of tanker. I know you are there.