2017 wildfire season highlights: Dragon Fighters

The Dragon Fighters is a contract wildland fire module. While I think that this video may have been for promotional purposes. I enjoyed the season highlights, shots of helicopters, as well as shots of wildlife the crew encountered. In 2017 they fought fires in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and South Dakota.


direct link to video on youtube

IMETs in Action: September 24th

We are into fall wildfire season continues in many parts of the United States. This means that US National Weather Service (NWS) Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) are continuing to be deployed to wildfires to provide onsite weather and tactical support. Here IMET deployments to wildfires over the last ten days.

• September 14th, US NWS Flagstaff Arizona IMET deployed to Silver Creek Fire near Kremmling, Colorado (18,444 acres at 50 percent containment).
• September 14th, US NWS Western Region HQ IMET deployed to Pole Creek Fire near Nephi, Utah (101,423 acres at 41 percent containment.
• September 15th, US NWS Missoula Montana IMET deployed to Bald Mountain Fire near Mona, Utah (18,596 acres at 33 percent containment.
• September 17th, US NWS Southern Region HQ IMET deployed to Roosevelt Fire near Jackson, Wyoming.
• September 17th, US NWS North Platte Nebraska IMET deployed to Ryan Fire near Walden Colorado (19,328 acres, no containment)
• September 21st, US NWS Aberdeen South Dakota IMET on site at Marten Creek Fire near Afton Wyoming (6,300 acres at 20 percent containment).
• September 21st, US NWS Riverton Wyoming IMET trainee deployed to Roosevelt Fire near Jackson, Wyoming.
• September 21st, US NWS Jacksonville Florida IMET deployed to Bald Mountain Fire near Mona, Utah (18,596 acres at 33 percent containment.
• September 21st, US NWS Western Region HQ IMET trainee onsite at Pole Creek Fire near Nephi, Utah Pole Creek Fire near Nephi, Utah (101,423 acres at 41 percent containment.
• September 24th, US NWS Pocatello Idaho IMET deployed to Mirror Lake Complex near Karnas, Utah (1,200 acres at 17 percent containment).

IMETs save lives! Thank-you IMETs for all you are doing to keep firefighters working on fires safe.

2018 California Wildfires: fighting fire from a fire work train

I have always liked trains, and I was intrigued when I first came across a video a few years ago about how a train was used to fight wildfires. I did not know know the time period when the video was shot, but I loved the video so I shared it on October 31, 2014  along with links to other information on trains used to fight wildfires posted by Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today on August 24, 2010.

Just today, thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who shared a very cool video of a fire work train used on the Delta Fire on their Fire Videos of the Week Page on September 15th. I just had to share with you. Stay safe and enjoy.


Direct link to video by Dan Ryant

NJ Forest Fire Service 2018 engine deployments: NJFFS engines demobilized, other eastern crews deployments

The four type-4 engines, A-45, T-9, A-29 and T-5, and their support vehicles were demobilized from their respective assignments in Nevada and California on or about September 15th (see this Facebook post from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association). I am very proud of all the NJFFS crew who staffed these engines and support vehicles helping fight various wildfires in California and Nevada. Perhaps as I post this they are home and back with their families?

While all NJFFS crews and engines are currently demobilized and (soon to be) back home in New Jersey, other crews and engines from the eastern area continue to be deployed in the western United States helping fight various wildfires. According to the Resources Summary from the Eastern Area Coordination Center for September 18th (updated daily while crews deployed, current summary found here there crews and engines from several eastern states deployed out west. Here is a summary of deployments outside of the eastern area:

Fire Crews
Potomac River #1 (West Virginia) working in Oregon.
PAS #8 (Pennsylvania) working in California.
Noreast Agency #3 (dispatched out of the NECC in New Hampshire) working in Colorado.

Modules, aka wildland fire modules
MNCC Interagency #3 (home unit in Minnesota) working in Colorado.
Great Lakes Interagency (home unit in Michigan) working in Idaho.
WIC #5 (home unit in Wisconsin) working in Oregon.

Engines (to read about the different types of wildland fire engines go to this wikipedia article)
One type-4 engine from Michigan deployed to California.
Three type-6 engines from Michigan deployed to Colorado, Washington and Oregon
Two type-6 engines from Maine deployed to California.
Five type-6 engines from Minnesota deployed to Montana (2), Oregon (2) and Colorado.
Two type-6 engines from Missouri deployed to Oregon.
Six type-6 engines from Wisconsin deployed to California (2), Montana (3), and Nevada.
One type-4 engine from Wisconsin deployed to Idaho.
One type-3 engine from Connecticut deployed to California.
One type-6 engine from Ohio deployed to Oregon.

Thanks to all of the crews mentioned here and their support teams for helping to fight wildfires in the western U.S.

2018 Hurricane Season: military aviation helping in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence (9/17/18)

In the aftermath of the devastating flooding rains in North and South Carolina and into Virginia, the Coast Guard has been hard at work on the ground, and as conditions permit, using helicopters to help flood victims. Here is some footage.


Direct link to video from okrajoe


Direct link to video from okrajoe


Direct link to video from ABC7 Sarasota


Direct link to video from US Department of Defense

2018 Hurricane Season: extra weather balloon launches for Hurricane Florence

I have blogged about the upper air data gathered by the National Weather Service (NWS) from weather balloons known as the upper air observation program. There are about 90 NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFO) that join other sites around the world in the upper air observation program by launching weather balloons with a radiosonde with sensors that record some weather data as the balloon ascends into the upper atmosphere. These "weather balloons" are launched per international agreement at the same time, at midnight and noon UTC. One of the important uses of this upper air data is that it is fed into the weather models that the NWS meteorologists and meteorologists from around the world use to come up with their weather forecasts.

I have written elsewhere about how NWS incident meteorologists will sometimes launch balloons for upper air observations to aid their fire weather forecasting.The data gathered by these balloon launches is also used by the National Hurricane Center in their hurricane forecast models.

Every so often when a large storm is threatening the U.S. the National Weather Service adds two extra weather balloon launches at 6AM and 6PM UTC, making for four balloon launches six hours apart. This was done in January 2016 for a large snow storm/blizzard that hit the east coast, see my January 2016 post on weather balloons. This week, many NWS WFOs in the upper air observation program, most but not all in the eastern half of the country, launched two additional weather balloons (one every six hours) to provide additional data for the NHC hurricane models. The NWS WFO Buffalo NY has a nice twitter post explaining balloon launches, with some nice graphics and photos.

I have two videos to share with you on upper air balloon launches. One shows a fairly typical balloon launch on a day that is not too windy.


Direct link to video from the City of Tampa

The second video is very short video from the NWS WFO Newport/Morehead NC, shared on their facebook page, go here to see the short video. The balloon launch was on or about September 13th. Note that because of the windy conditions, two people are holding on to the balloon as they exit the upper air building prior to launching the balloon.

I understand from a friend at the NWS WFO Norman Oklahoma that WFOs in Texas and Oklahoma stopped launching the two extra balloons as of today, September 14th, but WFOs to the east are continuing with the two extra balloon launches.

2018 hurricane season: hurricane hunters continue to fly Hurricane Florence

Direct link to video


Direct link to video

As Hurricane Florence continues to make its way towards the southeast coast of the United States NOAA's hurricane hunters as well as those from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron continue to fly missions into and over Hurricane Florence. Aircraft reconnaissance plans of the day into hurricanes are available from this page from the National Hurricane Center. More information on hurricane hunter missions in the atlantic basin may be found on the tropical atlantic webpage. If you want to learn more about hurricane hunters, I wrote about NOAA's hurricane hunters in a series in June 2015 (the NOAA hurricane hunter known as Kermit is now refurbished). In May 2015 I wrote a series on the hurricane hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.

Here are the reconnaissance missions into Florence planned for Thursday, September 13th. Teal refers to C-130s from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.

2018 Hurricane Season: Hurricane Hunters flying Hurricane Florence

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I had originally shared here was from USA Today and is no longer available.

I expect that many of you in the United States know that Hurricane Florence is in the western atlantic making its way to a possible land fall in the southeastern United States as a category 4 hurricane sometime Thursday night into Friday.

According to the plan of the day from the National Hurricane Center for September 10, 2018, see below, there are four Hurricane Hunter flights into Florence. Teal refers to C-130s from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. NOAA 49 is NOAA's Gulfstream IV high altitude research aircraft.

I have a very high level of respect for all who crew the Hurricane Hunters. What you do is very dangerous. You do this to provide data to the NHC for their forecasts. The NHC forecasts in turn are used by the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices as they issue products to warn their residents of upcoming impacts of a hurricane or tropical storm. The impacts of a hurricane or tropical storm may be felt many miles for the center of storm. Stay safe and please heed any evacuations.

Carr Fire: one month later

The Carr Fire (link no longer available) was contained on August 30th at 229,651 acres. 1,091 residences, 503 outbuildings and 22 commercial structures were destroyed. Words escape me . . .

Rest in Peace:

Don Ray Smith, 81, volunteer bulldozer operator
Jeremy Stoke, 37, fire inspector, Redding Fire Department
Melody Bledsoe and her two grandchidren, Amy Roberts (4) and James Roberts (5)
An unidentified person (as of August 25th)
Jairus Ayeta, 21, PG&E apprentice lineman
Andrew Brake, 40, CAL FIRE mechanic

Thanks to all the firefighters on the ground and in the air, and their support crews.

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I shared when I first posted this article is no longer available. The link to information about the Carr Fire is no longer available.

NJ Forest Fire Service 2018 engine deployments (Sept. 5th): update

It has been several days since I posted my last update on the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) type-4 engines deployed in the western U.S. It is time to provide an update on where these engines are.

Engines A-45 and T-9 had been assigned to the Stone Fire (California) last week, they were demobilized from that fire, on or about August 28th with a possible crew rotation, see an August 28th post on Facebook from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association. The Stone Fire is now at 100 percent containment, having burned 39,387 acres.

Meanwhile Engines A-29 and T-5 were demobilized from the County Line Fire near Carlin Nevada, for more information see my August 27th post. According to the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association in an August 31st Facebook Post, crew rotation occurred on August 31st with engines A-29 and T-5 being assigned to the Great Basis Task Force.

I was wondering where these four NJFFS engines are currently assigned. I got my answer from my friends at the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association in their September 4th update on their Facebook Page. Engines A-45 and T-9 are currently assigned to the Hirz fire, 18 miles northeast of Redding CA (46,051 acres burned at 70 percent containment. Meanwhile, engines A-29 and T-5 (part of Great Basin Task Force 18) are working the Gance Fire in northern Elko County, Nevada (4,500 acres burned, containment unknown).

I continue to be very proud of the good work the NJFFS crews have done helping out our friends in California and the Great Basin fight wildfires. Some of you returned home in time to spend part of the holiday weekend with your family and friends in New Jersey. Others were fighting wildfires. Thank-you for your service and your sacrifice. Stay safe.

Flying over the Delaware River

Here is another fun video uploaded by flyinphilsphotos of a flight over the Delaware River from Frenchtown to Milford NJ. Thanks to my pilot friends who take me flying, I have been on such a flight several times, but I'm not so good at taking videos from the right seat. The Delaware is a great and easy river to fly over.


Direct link to video from flyinphilsphotos on Youtube

2018 Atlantic City Airshow

On this Labor Day weekend I hope that you enjoy this 35 minute video from the 2018 Atlantic City Airshow that took place last weekend. In the meantime be safe and enjoy.


Direct link to video