Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A-26 Tankers in the United States

The first A-26 to fly was registration number N5457V, converted by Aero Atlas to tanker configuration in 1959. I believe that she first flew as a tanker in 1960 (see the entry page to the napoleon130 A26 invader tanker page). Her tank had a total capacity of 1,200 gallons (AAHS, 163; F. Johnsen Fire Bombers in Action, p.48). Stay tuned, I’ll write a little more about this tanker in the next article. In 1962 one A-26 tanker was used in the southern region of the U.S, and two were used in the northeastern region in 1963 (AAHS 166). A-26 tankers were also used in Oregon, Washington, Arizona and New Mexico in 1963 (AAHS, tables 5 and 6, p. 170). By my count of the A-26 tankers that F. Johnsen lists in Appendix A (Tanker Call Signs and Registrations) of Fire Bombers in Action (p.24), there were 30 A-26 Invaders that flew as tankers in the U.S. flying for quite a few different aviation services. 



For reasons that are not quite clear to me, the A-26 did not have a lengthy service as a tanker in the U.S. with the number of A-26 tankers flying in the U.S. beginning to dwindle in the mid-1970s. According to F. Johnsen (p. 48) most were no longer flying as tankers in the U.S. by 1980.

AAHS: American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) Journal (Vol. 9#3, Fall 1964), “Forest Fire Air Attack System” by William T. Larkins

Monday, July 29, 2013

A-26 Tanker Series -- Acknowledgements

Before I go any further in writing about the Douglas A-26’s service as a tanker, I want to thank the fellow who put together what I’ll call the napoleon130 A-26 Invader website, with a section on the A-26’s service as a tanker. After I begun reading up on the A-26 Invader a few months ago, it did not take long before a few of my friends in the tanker business, both in the U.S. and Canada sent me the link to this site. I have spent hours on this site at various times over the last few months and I found this site to be a treasure trove of information on the A-26 Invader’s service as a tanker. I can’t possibly due this site justice here, so I encourage those of you who are interested to check out napoleon130 A-26 invader tanker site. I will be linking to selected pages from this site, as appropriate later in this series. 


I got my first taste of the A-26’s service as a tanker in Canada from Linc Alexander’s Fire Bomber into Hell, he flew A-26 tankers first for Kenting Air and later for Conair. Allan MacNutt wrote a book called Altimeter Rising about his 50 years as a pilot, including working at both Conair and Air Spray in Canada flying tankers. Allan flew the A-26 for both Conair and Air Spray.

For a historical point of view, Frederick A. Johnsen put together a videobook (book and video DVD) called Fire Bombers in Action. Frederick provides a history of the history of fire bomber aircraft including an appendix with tanker call signs and registrations by aircraft type. Finally, about three years ago, a friend sent me a copy of an article from the American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) Journal (Vol. 9#3, Fall 1964) called “Forest Fire Air Attack System” by William T. Larkins. Larkins wrote a great piece on firebombing and air attack of the period and is a great history of the early days of firebombing in the U.S. 

Finally, saving the best for last, I need to acknowledge the help of some new friends who flew the A-26 tanker in Canada, without them, these articles would not be possible. Aviation Historian Tom Janney has also been very helpful.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Flying the A-26

direct link to video
I have now heard from two former A-26 tanker pilots who agree with the techniques presented in this video. I am reposting the video that I originally shared on March 1. It takes just under 17 minutes to watch the video. Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Intro to A-26 Tanker Series

Some of you will recall that I wrote about the Douglas A-26 Invader in a series of articles earlier this year (from February 23 to March 13). At that time I promised that I would write about her service as a firefighting tanker in the U.S. and in Canada. I am still developing this series as I write this, but I can provide the following time line to start things off.

July 26: Revisiting flying the A-26, historic training video on flying the A-26
July 29: A-26 Tanker Series -- Acknowledgements
July 31: A-26 Tankers in the United States
Aug 2: First A-26 Tanker in the U.S. - N5457V
Aug 5: A sample of A-26 Tankers that started service in the U.S. and went to Canada


I am still working on the articles focusing on her service in Canada, those articles will start posting on or about August 7.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Martin Mars in action


direct link to video

I love the Martin Mars, and when I saw this video last week on Bill Gabbert's Fire Aviation Blog I knew that I had to share it with you. You will see some a SEAT and some helos working the fire.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Mountain Fire (CA) update 2

Following up on the article I wrote a couple of days ago on the Mountain Fire in or near San Bernadino National Forest in southern CA. As I write this, according to the latest update from CAL FIRE (incident information no longer available), the fire has burned 24,818 acres and is at 15% containment.

I am out and about the next several days so it is unlikely that I'll be able to write about the Mountain Fire, however Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today is doing is usual great job covering wildfires. So I am more than happy to refer you to his website. He has an article with some videos of the Mountain Fire, including a 39 minute video that he posted yesterday. I haven't looked a all of these videos yet, but will do so when I am done here. He also has an article that he updates frequently reporting on the Mountain Fire itself that may be found here.

Finally Mike Archer of Firebomber Publications has several articles over the last few days on the Mountain Fire (15 July and continuing through July 19th).

Revised on October 12, 2015 to remove a dead link.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Mountain Fire (CA)

The Mountain Fire, currently burning in or near San Bernardino National Forest, has burned 14,200 acres and having destroyed a few residences and mobile homes along with some commercial buildings and out buildings. Evacuations are in place. The fire is at 10 percent containment. Here are links to incident information from:

CAL FIRE
Inciweb

A wildland fire hotlist thread on the Mountain Fire may be found here.

Update on the fire from NBC Los Angeles (6 PM on July 16):


View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.
direct link to video report, article, and links to other information

And two videos from  the Enveonomator1 ( Scorched Sky Productions )


direct link to video


direct link to video

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

10-Tanker Carrier is not moving to Wyoming

A couple of months ago, I wrote that 10-Tanker Carrier was planning a move to Wyoming. Just yesterday, Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation reported that 10-Tanker Carrier is canceling their move to Wyoming, you will want to read Bill's article for more information.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Northern Quebec wildfire activity

Here are two videos that I found on this page on Canada.com, dated 5 July. The map at the bottom of that article shows where the fires were burning on 5 July. The two videos were recording on or about 3 July near Nemiscau Quebec.


direct link to video


direct link to video

I'm not quite sure about the status of these particular fires shown in the above videos. However, I saw an article over the weekend, dated 10 July that Massachusetts sent a 15 member type 2 crew to Quebec to help with fight wildfires. Maine is sending a crew of six to Quebec. Go here to read the Masslive article, which also discusses the wildland firefighting compact between the New England States, portions of New England and the eastern Canadian Provinces. In addition Wildfire Today reported on the New England Firefighters being sent to Quebec on 14 July.

I found some satellite photos of the fires in Quebec taken on 8 July showing a smoke plume and a burn area from some wildfires burning in Quebec. Go here to see these photos.

The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System has a nice set of maps as well as links to other information about wildland fires in Canada. I found a webpage in both French and English from Quebec's wildland fire fighting agency, go here. I should warn you that I was having a little trouble with the website, perhaps something to do with translating the site into English. But if you want a little more detail on the wildland fire situation in Quebec, this site should help you out.






Saturday, July 13, 2013

Raw video of train explosion in Quebec

I think that by now, most of you know about the deadly train explosion that occurred In Quebec last weekend. I just found this video on posted on the Burlington (VT) Free Press website.



direct link to video

Here is a link to an update from CBCNews, 28 have been found with 22 still missing.

My thoughts and prayers are with all who mourn this tragedy.

Updated July 15, 2013: The New York Times reports here that the Canadians are launching a criminal investigation into the train wreck.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Brushfire (7/8/13, wheat field) in Upper Freehold Twsp. NJ




This past Monday, July 8, NJ Forest Fire Service Sections B10 and B17 assisted Section B9 in fighting a five to eight acre fire in a wheat field in Upper Freehold Township (Monmouth County) NJ. Firefighters from Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties also fought this fire. A piece of farm equipment known as a combine was destroyed.

Note, I'm not sure if the embed code that was provided works in all browsers (sorry). It seems to work in Firefox and Safari on my Mac but not in Chrome. So, if you don't see the embedded vide, please click on the direct link to video to watch a 3 to 4 minute of the NJFFS working the fire. A great video!

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Where to go for info on Granite MT Hotshot Memorials

I was not able to be present in Prescott Arizona for Sunday's escort or for today's memorial service, but Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been on scene. For example, he posted on Sunday with some photos he took of the escort, behind the scenes preparations yesterday for the memorial. This morning he posted some photos from the arena where the memorial was held including a link for the program from the memorial. I expect that he will be writing later today about the memorial service.

Other places where you might find coverage would be The Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial on Facebook (public) and In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013.

Update July 9, 6:25 PM Just found a link from the CSPAN archives with an archive of what is supposed to be the entire 3 hour memorial service, go to this page.


Former Wildland Firefighter speaks on the deaths of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots

Updated July 9, 5:20 PM EDT

As I paused this afternoon to watch some of the livestream of today's memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots (2 PM EDT, 11 AM MST) I am remembering what my friend Tom Janney said about the loss of his brother wildland firefighters as he was interviewed by Boise ID media the other day. I thought it fitting to share a link to this video here.

Unfortunately, I am not able to embed the video here, but I encourage you to take a few minutes and go to this direct link to video from KIVI TV in Boise ID to watch the video report. In addition to hearing Tom's moving share, KIVI TV reports on the Wildland Firefighting Foundation sending a statue of a firefighter to Prescott where it is probably already placed outside the arena in Prescott.

YarnellFallenFireFighters had a link to the live stream of the memorial service (since ended). While the memorial service was being streamed live I had embedded some code from one of the Phoenix TV stations, the service is over so I have deleted that link and article to avoid confusion.


Monday, July 08, 2013

Elegance in Action: Tankers over Nevada Widlfires

And now for something beautiful and elegant, airtankers in action. In this video from airailimages you will see one of Neptunes BAe-146 tankers, some seats, and a Neptune P-2V dropping on a fire near Winnemucca NV on July 3, 2013. The videographer is Frederick Johnsen.

I recently saw this video on Fire Aviation, loved it and am sharing it with you.



direct link to video

Sunday, July 07, 2013

19 fallen Granite MT Hotshots arrive home in Prescott AZ

I spent most of the afternoon watching live stream of the procession, a very moving experience. After the procession had left station 7, home base of the Granite MT Hotshots, a USFS DC-3 dropped 19 purple streamers. I did not see the streamers. But I saw a couple of minutes of the USFS DC-3 shot from one of the news helos.

video report from azcentral (12 minutes) of procession from Phoenix to Prescott

Video of procession--escort of 19 Granite MT Hotshots to Prescott

Here is a direct link to video report from azcentral as the procession of the 19 Granite MT hotshots arrives in Yarnell on the way to Prescott

As I post this video, the procession has reached Prescott. The families have requested privacy and no TV cameras as the procession passes the Granite MT Hotshot home station 7 in Prescott.

Saturday, July 06, 2013

Granite MT Hotshot Procession: Phoenix to Prescott on July 7

The caskets holding the 19 Granite MT Hotshots will process from Phoenix to Prescott with motorcycle escorts for each hearse starting Sunday, July 7 at 11:15 AM MST. (As I understand it Phoenix does have daylight savings time so I think Phoenix is three hours behind EDT). An honor guard will accompany each fallen firefighter. AZ residents may find the escort route with locations for public viewing information from this article on the YarnellFallenFirefightersSite. For those that are interested, I think that this will be streamed on various Phoenix Media, for example 12NBC and CBS5 KPHO in Phoenix. Info on live stream from KPHO may be found here, and their stream may be accessed at http://www.cbs5az.com/live. I heard that 12NewsNBC will also have a live stream, but have no specific info on how to access their stream other then directing you to http://www.azcentral.com/12news/. If I have my time zones figured out correctly this translates to 2:15 PM EDT. There are other news outlets in Phoenix, I've only followed those two. Perhaps the national news outlets will pick up on this as well?

I came across the following tribute to wildland firefighters by Patrick Karnahan today and thought that I'd share it with you as we reflect on the loss of the nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshots. You will not be forgotten.


direct link to video

Friday, July 05, 2013

Memorial for 19 Granite MT Hotshots on July 9

Here is a direct link to a video from azcentral reporting on plans for the memorial service for the 19 Granite MT hotshots

Update July 5, 10:20 AM EDT I ran across a website called YarnellFallenFireFighters on a couple of sources on the web, including the  In Memory of Prescott Firefighters Lost 6/30/2013 Facebook Page (a public page when I accessed on 7/5/2013). The YarnellFallenFireFighters page has information on the planning for the memorial services for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died on June 30, and is being updated periodically with new information so be sure to check that site for the latest information about the memorial service and related information.

Update July 5, 8 PM EDT ABC News is reporting that V.P. Biden will attend the memorial service for the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots on Tuesday July 9th from  11 AM to 1 PM in Prescott.

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Memorial in Prescott for Granite MT hotshots

Some photos of the memorial to the Granite Mountain Hotshots in Prescott, sent to me by a family member.




Monday, July 01, 2013

Tragic loss of 19 wildland firefighters while fighting the Yarnell Fire (Prescott AZ)

I woke up this morning to the very tragic news about the death of 19 wildland firefighters while fighting the Yarnell Fire near Prescott AZ on Sunday, June 30, 2013. I'm not sure if all 19 were members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew, but I believe that most of the were. As I understand it, the Granite Mountain Hotshots are also members of the Prescott AZ fire department, I'd like to take the opportunity to express my grief over this tragedy. I offer my thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, and colleagues of those who died.

For more info, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today covered the death of the firefighters fighting the Yarnell Fire here, and provides an historical perspective of multiple deaths of wildland firefighters here.

The Arizona Daily Daily Sun out of Flagstaff AZ reports on the Yarnell tragedy in an update just before midnight local time. The Daily Courier out of Prescott AZ reports on the tragedy here. In addition, I suspect that many of you may have already seen reports on major national media outlets.

Gary Varvel a cartoonist for the Indystar drew a tear jerking cartoon in tribute to the nineteen fallen firefighters, it may be found here.

Always Remember! on the Yarnell Hill tragedy
Facebook page in memory of Prescott Firefighters lost on June 30
Wildland Fire hotlist Yarnell Fire Fatalities condolence thread
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation works with families of fallen firefighters

Out of respect for this tragic loss of life at the Yarnell Fire, I have removed the article that I posted early in the evening on June 30 that included a video report from a Colorado TV station with an inside look at how wildland firefighting crews fight fires.

Revised  at 12:50 and 5:55 PM PM on July 1, 2013