aerial firefighting: MAFFs, SEATs, and Helicopters

I had shared three videos here in October 2018 of MAFFs, SEATs, and Helicopters working wildfires. Unfortunately, all three videos are no longer available.

What's coming up, and airtankers & helicopters

Over the years that I have been writing this blog, I have often found myself thinking about various concerns relating to wildland firefighting. 

To that end, for the last couple of months I have been thinking about Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) along with other advisories, watches and warnings that the NWS issues. In a couple of months, I am hoping that I will have an article addressing some of these and related issues that I will put up as a separate page on this blog. I have found that articles such as this can take quite a bit of time, and this one will be no exception. I am having fun working on this and I am learning a lot. I expect that I will make a post when this is done. I don’t want to give a time frame here that I can not meet. I’d like to have the page up before the Christmas and New Years holidays. But it might be longer.

The other project that I want to do is to revise my Airtankers 101 page which is somewhat out of date. This may not happen until sometime in the winter. 

In the meantime while I have been working on these and other projects, my thoughts are never far away from the wildland firefighting, whether it be on the ground and in the air. To that end, please enjoy some videos of aerial operations.

Carr Fire (July 2018)

Direct link to video on Youtube

DC10 Tanker (2017)

Direct link to video on Youtube

SEATs (2011, this may be a rerun and if so it is worth watching again)

Direct link to video on Youtube

2018 Wildfire Season: Australia (March 15, 2018)

Here is some incredible wildfire footage shot in Bega Australia (between Sydney and the Victoria border) on one of the hottest day ever recorded. Temperatures were 38.4˚ C or  101.2˚ F. Winds were gusting at 87 km/h or 54 mph.


Direct link to video

Heli-Rappelling

It has been awhile since I shared some videos with you showing the important work done by heli-rappel crews in fighting wildfires. Once on the ground they work as a crew as other wildland firefighters do. They do this to keep you safe. What is interesting to me is that they arrive where they by helicopter and then rappel down to where they will be working. Heli-rappellers do not only work on wildfires.

Here are two videos about heli-reppelling, the first is about three minutes and focuses on training, the second is over seventeen minutes and you will hear from heli-reppellers about what they do on wildfires and on other incidents.


Direct link to video #1


Direct link to video #2

About female wildland firefighters

There have been female wildland firefighters for a number of years. Here are a couple of videos where you will be able to listen to and watch female firefighters.


Direct link to video #1


Direct link to video #3 (from 2011)


Direct link to video #3

2018 Hurricane Season: Helicopters deployed for search and rescue take off and refueling

As I was perusing videos on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) the other day, I came upon a very interesting video that I knew that I just had to share with you. It is a video that includes a helicopter being refueled in the air. Yes, the aerial refueling is important and something that fascinates me, but more to the point is that these two videos highlight two HH60-G Pave Hawk Helicopters and an HC-130130P/N king aerial refueling aircraft from the 920th Rescue Wing. With a range of up to 504 nautical miles (or 580 miles) under what is probably ideal conditions I can see the importance of the aerial refueling aircraft.


This first video shows the helicopters and the refueling aircraft taking off to be on call for search and rescue work in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. The video (just under six minutes) is shot by Tech. Sgt. Jared Trimarchi of the 920th Rescue Wing/Public Affairs Q. Here is the description from the DVIDS page with the video

Airmen from the 334th Air Expeditionary Group take off to survey the Florida panhandle, Oct. 11, 2018 from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, after Hurricane Michael left its mark on the peninsula coast. The 334th AEG is an expeditioary search and rescue unit made up of Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing, PAFB, Florida and the 563rd Rescue Group, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Aircrew took off in two HH60-G Pave Hawk helicopters and an HC-130P/N King aerial refueling aircraft. The 334th AEG is standing by to perform search and rescue if called upon by Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The second video (just under two minutes) was shot by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes of the 920th Rescue Wing/Public Affairs Q.  In this video clip you will see one of the helicopters being refueled during the mission. From the description on the DVIDS video page:

Airmen from the 334th Air Expeditionary Group take off to survey the Florida panhandle, Oct. 11, 2018 from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, after Hurricane Michael left its mark on the peninsula coast. The 334th AEG is an expeditioary search and rescue unit made up of Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing, PAFB, Florida and the 563rd Rescue Group, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. Aircrew took off in two HH60-G Pave Hawk helicopters and an HC-130P/N King aerial refueling aircraft. The 334th AEG is standing by to perform search and rescue if called upon by Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

2018 Hurricane Season: Hurricane Hunters flying through Michael and Florence

Regular readers of my blog know that I have a great deal of respect for Hurricane Hunters that fly into Hurricanes to collect valuable weather data for the National Weather Service. I want to thank all the crews of the Hurricane Hunters as well as the crews on the ground for providing this data. What you do is dangerous, you are appreciated. Stay safe.

Here is a short video, a little over three minutes of a Hurricane Hunter flying through the eyewall of Hurricane Michael on or about October 9th.


Direct link to video uploaded by WGNO-TV News with a Twist ABC 26

The video below is from the Defense Video and Information Distribution Service aka DVIDS, B-Roll Hurricane Florence - Hurricane Hunters. Video shot on or about September 12, 2018 by Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben, 4th Combat Camera Squadron. The footage is long, over 16 minutes, but there is some great footage of the crew deploying the instruments used to collect data from the Hurricane, footage  of the view from the airplane of the Hurricane including what appears to be some footage from inside the eyewall. Here is the description from the DVIDS webpage where I got the embed code:

An Air Force reserve HC-130J Hercules attached to to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flys aerial weather missions for the Hurricane Hunters into hurricane Florence, Sep. 12, 2018 out of the Savanah Air National Guard base, Georgia. The U.S. Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, or Hurricane Hunters, is conducting a storm tasking mission into Hurricane Florence, currently a category 4 storm. The taskings provide weather data for the National Hurricane Center to assist in providing up-to-date and accurate information for storm forecasts. (U.S. Air Force Video by Technical Sgt. Chris Hibben)

New Jersey and New York sent emergency response teams to help Hurricane victims

There are many States in the U.S. that have sent emergency responders, equipment, search and rescue vehicles, aircraft to help with the recovery from Hurricanes Florence and Micheal. In this post I focus on Hurricane Michael and in particular emergency responders from New Jersey and New York. It is my great honor to have dedicated emergency responders helping out in the aftermath of these hurricanes. I have seen first had the responders from the around the country who have helped us out in our times of need. And now it is our turn to help.

I share the embed code from local TV news media knowing that sometimes the code will time out and no longer be good.


Direct link to video report from CBS2 NY


Direct link to video report from WPIX


Direct link to report with youtube video from NJ dot com


106th Rescue Wing of the NY National Guard deployed to help with Hurricane Michael recovery (video), you will be asked to disable any adblockers

Reflections Fall 2018: not enough firefighting air tankers and helicopters

About four months ago, I wrote a reflection piece that I called not enough firefighting air tankers and helicopters, see my June 8th article. My resource for that reflection piece is Bill Gabbert’s Fire Aviation website http://fireaviation.com/ , specifically he had written on February 16th: “air takers to be cut by one-third in 2018”  He went on to say that the USFS would issue call when needed contracts, which come at an increased coast. I wrote in early June that I was very disturbed by the reduction in USFS exclusive-use large tankers from 20 in 2017 to 13 in 2018, and at that time. the status of whether or not there would be any SEATs on exclusive-use contracts in 2018 was unknown. I am not quite certain but there may not be any SEATs on Exclusive-Use Contracts in 2018.  For information on type-2 helicopters exclusive-use contracts see Bill's April 10th article on Fire Avaition. In February 2018, Bill wrote about an increase in unable to fill orders for type-1 helicopters here with a reminder that in 2017 type 1 helicopters on exclusive use contracts were reduced from 34 in 2016 to 28 in 2017. Yes we have the MAFFs, but only eight of them. 

I was hoping that there would be some large tankers on call-when-needed contracts to offset the reduction in the number of tankers on exclusive-use contracts. I was upset when I read Bill Gabbert’s October 4th article on Fire Aviation where he reports that “CWN contracts first advertised May 30, 2018 for additional aircraft have not been awarded." I do know that there are states that have tankers and helicopters on various contracts including but not limited to California, Oregon, Colorado  with Air Tractor 802 SEATs, North Carolina and Florida. Then there are including but not limited to New Jersey New Jersey and Pennsylvania who contract for SEATS during their spring wildfire season. My understanding is that aircraft on state contracts are limited to flying fires in that state.

As we enter the fall season here in the United States, the fire season continues to be very active, especially out west. it is disconcerting to say the least that there may not be enough large air-tankers, SEATs, and helicopters available to help support the wildland firefighters on the ground. I know that they support of aircraft, including but not limited to the early stages of a wildfire, can be crucial, especially in remote and hard to access areas. It seems to me that we need more of all types of aircraft used to fight wildfires: large tankers, SEATs, and helicopters. It may be too late for the 2018 season, but it is not too late for the 2019 season.

There is much that I don’t know. I have some questions that I think about, I have no answers for you and I suspect that some of you have the same questions. How many times have aviation resources been requested but were not filled? In States that have fixed wing and helicopters under contract, are these resources able to fulfill the need? Some contractors may have (or have had) air tankers and helicopters that are not under exclusive-use contracts, what has happened to these aircraft and their pilots? For those with current call-when-needed contracts, how many aircraft and pilots do they keep available and how long before they can be dispatched if the call comes? For aircraft on contract, whether they be exclusive-use or call-when-needed, are there enough relief pilots?

When I want to find out about various firefighting aviation contracts in the United States, I go to Bill Gabbert’s Fire Aviation website, where he has tagged his articles on contracts. There was a time when I was able to find some information on the internet about these federal contracts, but these sites are understandably no longer available to the general public. I have looked to no avail to see if there was other publicly available information on U.S. federal aviation contracts. So, I am especially grateful for the work that Bill Gabbert does to find and distill this information for the public. Then there is Mike Archers, Wildfire News of the Day. I subscribe to Mike's five-day a week e-mails chock full of current stories about wildland firefighting in the United States and across the globe, including articles about air tankers and helicopters. The Associated Aerial Firefighters posts news about aerial firefighters. Finally, another source of good information is the American Helicopter Services and Aerial Firefighting Association. There may well be other folk who write about aviation resources and contracts that i do not know about. 

2017 fire season: Wyoming Hotshots

This is a holiday for some of us in the United States, so I am taking another day to chill and recreate. In the meantime, enjoy this video highlighting the Wyoming Hotshots 2017 fire season. I always learn something from these videos and I hope you do as well.


Direct link to video

2017 fire season: Entiat Hotshots crew video

Enjoy this video from the Entiat Hotshots highlighting their 2017 fire season. The Entiat Hotshots are based in the pacific northwest. Stay safe everyone and thanks for all you do to keep us safe.


Direct link to video

October 1st: Hurricane Rosa, heavy rains and burn scars

Many of you probably heard about the remnants of Hurricane Rosa (the last advisory from the NHC for Rosa was issued on October 2nd) impacting areas of the southwestern United States earlier this week. I have been aware of the risk of debris flows and flash flooding on burn scars in mountainous areas with steep slopes. See for example, see this presentation by the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Los Angeles about the January 9, 2018 debris flows on the Montecito CA burn scar.

I am just learning that the risks posed by heavy rains causing debris flows and flash flooding are not just limited to California. While California is known for debris flows on burn scars, other areas of the west with step mountainous terrain are also susceptible. See this short article about why burn scars are susceptible to flash flooding/debris flows from the National Weather Service Western Region Headquarters.

Knowing that Hurricane Rosa impacted areas of the southwestern United States with heavy rains, I looked at a couple of National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFO)  that appeared to impacted by flash flooding from Rosa to see what is and was going on: NWS WFO Salt Lake City Utah and NWS WFO Grand Junction Colorado. Both WFOs had issued flash flood watches with wording about the possibility of debris flows and flash flooding on recent burn scars, I noted graphics on flash flood watches on the Facebook page for both offices.

• The NWS WFO Grand Junction Colorado shared a graphic about a flash flood watch on their Facebook page on October 1st, with wording about the possibility of debris flows/flash flooding on burn scars.
• The NWS WFO Salt Lake City Utah posted a flash flood watch on their Facebook page on September 30th with wording about the possibility of debris flows/flash flooding on burn scars. Some of you might be interested in a briefing from the WFO Salt Lake City Utah on Facebook on October 2nd around mid-day. Please note that the briefing is for a certain point in time and will not reflect conditions that happened after the briefing. 

I don't know if the rains led to debris flows/flash flooding from burn scars in either the Grand Junction or the Salt Lake City WFO. I have not heard about any debris flows/flash flooding on burn scars, but it is entirely possible that I don't have current information. The point here is that it is important that these WFOs were watching for the possibility of debris flows/flash flooding on burn scars in their forecast area so that their citizens could be prepared to take action.

2018 wildfire season: 416 fire (Durango CO)

As I was preparing to write today's blog article, I knew that I wanted to share a crew video that highlights the work of a hotshot crew that worked the 416 fire. I'll share that video below, but first a little about the 416 fire. The 416 fire started on June 1, 2018 about 10 miles north of Durango, CO. the fire was contained on or about July 31st but at the time the interior of the fire was still smoldering. The fire burned 54,129 acres. As I understand there is yet no official cause of the fire, that report will be released sometime late this year. For more information about the containment of this fire read this July 31st Durango Herald Article. The Inciweb page on the 416 fire is still up as I write this, I am not sure how long the page will be accessible. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today wrote a few articles on the 416 fire, including references to other wildfires, that burned in Colorado this past summer, go here (416 tag) for those articles. Finally while the 416 fire may be contained, there remains danger from debris flows and flash flooding to the area and area surrounding the 416 fire burn scar.  There has been at least one round of heavy rains that lead to mudslides in and near the area burned by the 416 fire, you may read about it hear in a July 17th Denver Post article.


Direct link to video uploaded by Hank Blum