A Happy and Safe New Year to all.

I wish everyone a very Happy and Safe New Year. As 2018 winds down tonight, some of will be out celebrating, I wish all of you are celebrating a safe New Years Eve. Others may be traveling home tomorrow or the next day after time away.

I wanted to share a 2018 year in review video with you on the them of wildland firefighting and or first responders. Some of you know that among the states I have a special affinity for is Oklahoma. So it seems only fitting to share the following video with you from Oklahoma Emergency Services, titled "A Firefighter Tribute." The video is about Oklahoma, but the video speaks to this blog writer from New Jersey. Enjoy. Allow a little over eight minutes to watch the video.


Direct link to video from Oklahoma Emergency

Prescribed burns in U.S. Fall-Winter 2018-19

I was perusing Inciweb yesterday and noted that there is or has been a number of prescribed burns listed during the Fall and Winter of 2018-19. I am listing them below, any errors are mine. This list of prescribed burns is as of December 28, 2018. What you see when you access Inciweb may be different.

Indiana

Hoosier National Forest

Colorado

Big Horn Sheep 636 acres

Slash Pile Burning 2018

Dolores Ranger District

Idaho

Rapid River 5,000 acres

PV NIDGS 350 acres

Mill Creek Council Mountain

East Fork 2,130 acres

Rocky Bear 52 acres

Payette, Fall 2018 3,732 acres

Four Mile 2,000 acres

Bald Hill 1,200 acres

Nevada

Range Two Fire 9.196 acres

Arizona

KNF-GRCA North Zone, 2018-2019 3,000 acres

Kabob NF South Zone 300 acres

2018 Fall/Winter Burns 226 acres

Tonto National Forest 500 acres

California

Shasta Trinity

Kern River Ranger District 20 acres

Pine Cove

Oregon

2018 Umtilla NF

I am embedding a short video showing a controlled (aka prescribed burn) in the Mequon Nature Preserve in Wisconsin


Direct link to video on Youtube

Seasons Greetings and thank-you to all wildland firefighters

I took the last two days off to spend time with my family and friends during this holiday season. I am well aware that for many wildland firefighters -- on the ground or in the air -- as well as structure firefighters were working those two days to keep us safe. At times sacrificing time with their families. So, I want to take some time again, to thank all wildland firefighters for your service. I also want to wish all wildland firefighters and structure firefighters a very happy holiday season and a happy New Year.

The tribute video below may be a rerun, so to speak, as I have shared it at least twice on the blog. The video was uploaded to Youtube over tent years ago, but it stands the test of time, offering a good tribute to wildland firefighters. Further it was one of my favorites. I post this with thanks in my heart for all that wildland firefighters -- on the ground and in the air -- do to keep us safe.


Direct link to video on Youtube

Seasons Greetings

My end of year holiday tradition is to embed Frederick Forsyth's The Shepard, read by Alan Maitland. The Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) broadcasts The Shepard every year around this time of year. For those of you who don't have the easy opportunity to listen to The Shepard on CBC, I am embedding it below. Enjoy


Direct link to The Shepard on Youtube

Drone incursions at Gatewick Airport in London

I have written some articles about unmanned aircraft systems (aka drones) and the dangers they pose to aerial operations, including but not limited to aerial wildland firefighting. I continue to be aware of the problems that drone incursions may cause to aerial operations. Air tankers and helicopters are grounded from aerial operations over wildfires when drones are spotted. Drone operations near airports can pose a risk to airport operations.

When reading my daily newspapers, I noted that a drone incursion had shut down all flights into and out of Gatewick Airport in London from Wednesday night (December 19th) into early Friday morning (December 21st). As a result of the drone incursion(s) Gatewick was closed for about 32 hours during one of the busiest travel times of the year leading to chaos at the airport. The airport reopened to flights early in the morning of December 21st only to be have all flights suspended  late in the afternoon for an hour or so after another suspected drone incursion. See this December 21st article from the New York Times for more information.

I am embedding a video from BBC about the dangers drones pose to aviation and what the British are trying to do. Be advised that in the United States, drones have to be registered with the FAA, go to this FAA site to read about drone safety tips and drone operations. For information about drone registration with the F.A.A. go here.



Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up

After I finished graduate school, I spent some time on a job where I had to have a passing familiarity with remediation of household, commercial, and industrial hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is any type of waste that poses a risk to public health, animals and the environment. No I am not any kind of expert in remediation or in environmental science or engineering. But I had to know the lingo and have a passing familiarity with what was involved with remediating sites contaminated with hazardous waste. At the very least, I had to be able listen and understand. That was over fifteen years ago. So when I was perusing some recent articles on the Camp Fire that recently decimated Paradise California, I was interested to see an article from KQED about the hazardous waste clean-up from the Camp Fire, go here to read the article.

I know that this is not the first large fire where hazardous waste clean-up is necessary. However, I was paying attention this time and because of my background fifteen plus years ago, I knew that I had to write about the hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise following the Camp Fire. It is important to consider that the hazardous waste clean-up is ongoing in Paradise at the time I write this and will be for awhile.

The hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise started on or about Monday, December 3rd. However, evacuation orders had to be lifted before work could start in a specific neighborhood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) as assisting the EPA. Various agencies in Paradise are assisting including but not limited to the Police. My understanding is that the first phase of the post-fire debris removal program involves the cleaning up and removing household hazardous waste without cost to the homeowner. Commercial hazardous waste is also cleaned up in phase one. Household hazardous waste includes but is not limited to: asbestos, batteries (lead), paints, solvents, pesticides and herbicides, propane tanks, cleaners, etc. Once the household hazardous waste is removed that property will identified by means of a tag.

Only when the household hazardous waste has been removed, then part two, debris removal can begin. In part two the soil from the ash footprint will be scraped down to 3 to 6 inches with samples sent to a lab for analysis. If the soil testing indicates contamination, than more soil is removed and another soil sample is taken until the soil test is clear of contaminants. Go to this Butte County site on post-fire debris removal  for more information. As I write this, I am assuming that this site will be available until the debris removal is completed. It is my understanding that ash is removed in part 2, debris removal.

I don’t know exactly know how long the hazardous waste clean-up will take, and then there will part two, debris removal. I am also aware that there have to be other issues that homeowners whose residences are more or less intact after the Camp Fire may have to contend with, such as damage to private water wells and septic systems. Public water supplies are likely to be contaminated as well and residents should pay attention to any advisories regarding using their water, including but not limited to boil water advisories. Then there will be the health effects if any ash is left. And of course, the electric infrastructure is damaged.

Salmon Heli-Rappellers proficiency training

Heli-rappelling is an important aspect of wildland firefightings as specially trained wildland firefighters rappel down from helicopters to often remote areas to work a wildland fire. Enjoy this video showing the Salmon Heli-Rappellers proficiency training shot using a helmet camera. From 2014.


Direct link to video

Thank-you wildland firefighters (2018 version)

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing a great tribute video on their video of the week page (updated weekly).

I share this video in honor of, and to thank all the wildland firefighters on the ground and in their air as well as their support teams for your service in 2018, sometimes under very difficult conditions.


Direct link to video from MacCloud Entertainment

USFS one-year air tanker contracts

Regular readers know that I follow Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today  and Fire Aviation websites. I am sure that many of you follow Bill's websites. Those of you who are interested in staying current on the news affecting wildland fire fighting and fire aviation will want to follow his websites.  No doubt that some of you are already familiar with Bill's December 6th Fire Aviation article, "Forest Service moving to one-year contracts for air tankers." I hope that those of you who have not read Bill's article on the upcoming one-years contracts for air tankers will do so now, it is well worth the read and perhaps you will want to bookmark the article as I have done. I decided to make this post referencing this article that Bill wrote because I think the news of the upcoming one-year contracts for air tankers is important. I don't really have anything original to add, but I do want to reference a couple of points that he makes.

Those of you who are so inclined, may be interested in looking at the RFP solicitation that Bill linked to in his article. For your convenience, I am providing a link to this RFP solicitation found on the FBO website here. The RFP calls for a one-year contract for air tankers with options for four additional one-year contracts. I believe that the solicitation is calling for up to five large air tankers. Contracts will commence with the 2019 calendar year.

After reminding us about the overall decrease in air tankers from 44 in 2002 to 14 in 2018, Bill points to the difficulties this type of contract could pose to contractors seeking to add new air tankers to their fleet of air tankers:

Air tankers are very expensive to purchase and retrofit. Most of the jet-powered tankers being used today before being converted were retired from their original mission and are decades old  . . .  Most air tanker operators in the United States prefer to buy retired airliners like the BAe-146,  DC-10, or variants of the C-130 and convert them to carry and dispense retardant. Retrofitting alone runs into the millions. Few if any vendors can simply write a check to purchase and convert an air tanker, so they have to convince a lender to give them large sums of money usually even before they have a contract with the USFS. With this new one-year contract policy, obtaining those funds could be even more difficult. (Bill Gabbert, Forest Service moving to one-year contracts for air tankers)

You will want to read Bill's article for more information and analyses.

I remain concerned about the smaller number of large air tankers on exclusive-use contracts. I am very cautiously hopeful that, if awarded, this solicitation could result in up five additional large air tankers on contract in 2019. However, as Bill points out, the USFS has the option of not exercising its option to contract for these large air tankers in years two through five.

I am sure that Bill will do his usual good job in following the status of this solicitation and any resulting awards. I will be following Bill's Fire Aviation website for developments and hope that you do as well

2018 wildfire season: Vista Grande Hotshots

Enjoy this 24 minute video from the Vista Grande Hotshots (San Bernadino National Forest, California) summarizing their 2018 wildfire season. In the first three minutes or so you will meet the crew. Then the video takes you through highlights of their fire season. Included among the wildfires they worked are:

Pawnee/County Fire (MDF) at approximately 4 minutes (m)16 seconds (s)
Lassen National Forest at approximately 6m.50s
Carr Fire, Redding California at approximately 9m12s'=
Cranston Fire, BDF at approximately 11m23s
Holy Fire, Cleveland National Forest at approximately 13m04s
Hirz Fire, Shasta-Trinity National Forest at approximately 15m58s
Colorado at approximately 18m18s
Small fires and random photos at approximately 20m23s


Direct link to video uploaded

Remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

At some point in my youth, perhaps when I was in high school. I asked my parents what they remembered about the day Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked. As I recall, and acknowledging that memory can sometimes be unreliable, both of my parents knew exactly where they were when they heard about the attack. I wish I could say that I remember what they told me. But that isn't important. What is important is that they remembered.

One of my grandfathers, an officer in the U.S. Army, served in the war. My other grandfather was a civilian who worked in the aeronautical industry supporting the air war. I thank them for their service.

I to remember, not in the same day that my parents and those of their generation did, but I remember.

And #WeRemember

So, because #WeRemember, I share this video from the US Army that they uploaded to youtube for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.


Direct link to video on Youtube uploaded by the U.S. Army

RIP George H. W. Bush: WWII Naval Aviator and 41st President

Today, I pause to remember the passing of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. He was the last President who served in World War II. He served as a naval aviator. I understand that he is wearing his airplane socks.

I expect that most of you in the U.S. have heard by now of his service in World War II and that his plane was shot down in the Pacific.

President Bush, may you fly in favorable tail winds.

Even if you are familiar with President Bush's World War II service, please take three minutes to listen to his son, Neil Bush, talk about his Father's military service.

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I shared when I first posted this article is no longer available.

Military Helicopters fighting wildfires

Please enjoy these two videos of military helicopters working wildfires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. Both videos were uploaded by Gung Ho Vids.

In the first video, from 2014, you will see U.S. Marine helicopters working out of Camp Pendleton in southern California.


Direct link to video


The video below shows National Guard helicopters working wildfires in Oregon and Washington.


Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: Mad River Hotshots

In November 2018, I had shared a nice video summarizing the Mad River Hotshots 2018 fire season. Unfortunately it is no longer available.

Neptune Aviation Tankers with some SEATs

I have been writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting for almost ten years now. I began writing about wildfires in fall of 2008 moving into learning about and writing about tankers and helicopters used to fight wildfires in early 2009. When I was first wrote about airtankers in 2009, among the tankers that I first learned about were Neptune Aviation's P-2V tankers and Aero Union's P-3 tankers. Both of these contractors had Exclusive Use Contracts with the US Forest Service in those days. The US Forest Service terminated it's contract with Aero Union's P-3 tankers in August 2011.

Neptune Aviation is still around but the last of their Lockheed P-2V Tankers retired at the end of the 2017 season. Neptune Aviation started flying BAe-146 tankers a few years, now their entire tanker fleet are BAe-146 tankers.

For no particular reason, I have been thinking of the Neptune Aviation tankers that I have known, the now retire P-2V tanker and the BAe-146 tankers. So I am sharing some videos with you today, with some SEATs thrown in. Gotta love the very versatile SEATs.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Tanker and helicopter wildfire footage (late November 2018 edition)

I started this blog to focus on aerial wildland firefighting. As regular readers know, I delve into related issues. But today I want to get back to tankers and helicopters working wildfires. To that end I have a few videos that I want to embed here to share with you. Before I do, I want to acknowledge that I need to rewrite my airtankers 101 page, something that I will work on over the next several weeks. Please be patient as I revise that page.

Now to the videos. In this first video, you will see a few different types of airtankers working wildfires. I believe that among the airtankers you will see in this video are: Neptune Aviation BAe-146, Global Supertanker 747, Aero Air MD-87, Canadair CL-415 Scooper, and 10 Tanker DC-10.


Direct link to video

In this video you will see the Contra Costa County Sheriff's STARR1 helicopter working a wildfire.


Direct link to video

Los Angeles County Fire Department Helicopter, Copter 14, working a brush fire in Los Angeles County California area on or about October 14, 2018.


Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 23rd) Camp & Woolsey Fires

The Woolsey Fire burned 99.949 acres and is at 100 percent containment. Three firefighters were injured and 3 civilians died. 1,500 structures were destroyed and 341 were damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

As I write this, here are the stats for the Camp Fire:

• 153,336 acres burned, at 95 percent containment. 
• 13,672 single residences destroyed, 465 single residences damaged, 282 multiple residences destroyed, 514 commercial structures destroyed, 105 commercial structures damaged, 4,265 minor structures destroyed.
• Three firefighter injuries.
• 84 civilian fatalities to date.
• cause under investigation.

In the last couple of days, it rained in the area of the Camp Fire which helped firefighters to contain the fire.  Perhaps the rain has hampered or slowed down the search and rescue efforts as the search for the missing continues and the death count climbs.

I saw this video on the Sacamento Bee the other day and wanted to share it with you. In this five minute video you will hear Cheryl talk about how she survived the Camp Fire with her cat. She was rescued two days after the fire broke out.

Direct link to Sacramento Bee story and video

Thanksgiving wishes and remembrances

On the eve of this Thanksgiving holiday in America:

• For all who are traveling, I wish you safe travels.
• For those of you spending the holiday with your family and/or friends, enjoy the moment.
• For wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air working wildfires this holiday weekend, you are away from your families. Stay safe and thank-you.
• More and more people are working this weekend, perhaps in hospitals or police fire and ambulance service. the National Weather Service is a 24/7 operation, some will be on shift on Thanksgiving. Others in retail or other service positions. Hopefully if you celebrate Thanksgiving, you celebrate before or after work. Know that your work is appreciated.
• Thank-you to all of you in the military who are away from your family and friends overseas. Thank-you for your sacrifice and your service.

I am aware that for many there is little to be thankful for. For some it is because you are alone and have no place to go. Thousands of you have had your homes burned in wildfires, some of you are with your families, and others of you are in shelters or camps. Hundreds if not thousands of you have been affected by recent typhoons and hurricanes and your home may be completely destroyed or not habitable, perhaps you are still in a shelter or camp or making do the best you can on your property

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 19th)

Woolsey Fire (Thousand Oaks CA): 3 dead, 1,500 structures destroyed As I write this this 96,649 acre fire is at 94 percent containment,

Camp Fire (Paradise CA):As I write this, 77 people are dead, several hundred are missing, 11,713 homes destroyed, 277 multiples residences destroyed472 commercial buildings destroyed. The fire has burned 150,000 acres to date and is at 65 percent containment. Helicopters are working the fire in support of wildland firefighters on the ground. Search and rescue crews continue to search for the missing.

NPR report on the fires (November 19th)

To make matters even more uncomfortable for those who are homeless after the Camp Fire, there are outbreaks of the Noro Virus (aka stomach flu) at some of the shelters.


Direct link to video

Like a lot of people, I think about the residents of Paradise CA everyday, often multiple times a day as well as all the firefighters, search and rescue teams, and those supporting those who are homeless and perhaps sick from the Noro Virus.

I offer these videos as an act of remembrance for all those who have lost homes, have missing loved ones, whose loved ones have died, search and rescue teams, those supporting the victims of the fire, and all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air. The first video is a video report from ABC News on or about November 13th reporting on survivors of the Camp and Woolsey Fires.The second video (from the Sacramento Bee)below may be a little hard to look at, they are describing how search and rescue teams look for human remains, The third video, also from the Sacramento Bee is an authorized drone fly over of Paradise CA on or about November 13th


Direct link  to video from ABC News (November 13th)


Direct link to video from Sacramento Bee (November 16th)



Direct link to video from the Sacramento Bee (November 13th)

SEAT footage from the cockpit (2015)

Enjoy this footage from the cockpit of a Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) shot from the cockpit while working the 2015 Windy Ridge Fire on August 12, 2015. This footage was uploaded to Youtube by the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon (BLMOregon).


Direct link to video from BLMOregon on Youtube

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 13th update)

Here is a CBS news report uploaded to Youtube on November. So, I assume that the information in the video is current as of November 13th. A CBS Meteorologist discusses how the weather is affecting the current wildfires burning in California, ending with a discussion on climate change. The video is about seven minutes long.

My thoughts and meditations are with all those affected by the wildfires. Condolences for the loved ones of those who have died. Thanks to all the wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air who are working hard in awful conditions to fight these wildfires.

Latest information from CAL FIRE
Camp Fire
Woolsey Fire
Hill Fire


Direct link to video on Youtube

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (November)

At least 25 people dead, 23 from the Camp Fire and 2 from the Woolsey Fire.

Link to interactive map of the current Califonia Wildfires from CAL FIRE

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire (Paradise CA)

The Camp Fire, one of three large wildfires burning in California. was first reported on Thursday, November 9th. Over 6,400 homes destroyed. At least 9 people are dead, 35 are missing. It has burned about 90,000 acres and is at 5 percent containmentSome of the deaths were people in their cars trying to evacuate this very fast moving fire. In however you reflect on these tragedies, please pause for a few minutes to remember the dead. And to remember the wildland firefighters on the ground working to fight this fire, that they be safe.

RIP, may you always fly in favorable tail winds.



Direct link to video from KPIX SF Bay Area

The Washington Post has some stunning photos from the Camp Fire and other fires burning in California

This just in, according to the Washington Post, the death toll in the wildfires burning in California is now 11.

Those of you who are interested in knowing more about the three wildfires burning in California, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today is covering the fire, his latest article on the Camp Fire may be found here, and he also reported on the Woolsey Fire and an earlier article on the Hill and Woolsey Fires

2018 fire season: Midewin Hotshots

Enjoy this video by the Midewin Hotshots highlighting thier 2018 fire season.


Direct link to video by Midewin Hotshots

Reflections on learning about aerial firefighting almost 10 years ago

After  i wrote about P-2 Neptune tankers the other day, I spent some time reflecting on first learning about the business of aerial firefighting nine and ten years ago. I am eternally grateful to some now good friends who helped me learn about the business. I spent a lot of time watching live stream coverage of some of the larger wildfires that were burning in southern California in mid to late 2009. A couple of times, I was watching the live stream as I was exchanging e-mails with one of my former tanker pilot friends. He would share a little about what was going on. I enjoyed seeing the tankers and helos in action, working to help the wildland firefighters on the ground. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words. The video that I am sharing below is from Alan Simmons of Firestorm HD Production. He uploaded the video to Youtube in April 2010. I believe that at least some of the fire footage is from 2009, perhaps there is footage of some of the wildfires that I was following in 2009. Alan’s footage is a highlight video from a longer DVD that he put out, go here for more information on the video that is available for purchase only. 

I love watching videos like Alan’s of tankers working a wildfire. Elegance in action. What they do is very dangerous. Please remember that if it is very windy or the smoke is very bad tankers and helicopters may not be flying the fire because it is not safe to do so.

The video from Alan Simmons that I have embedded below has about eight minutes of highlights from his 80 minute video. In the first half, you will see footage of the S-2T, P-2 Neptunes, P-3 Orion, Canadair 215/415, and the DC-10. The final three or four minutes includes footage from 1999 of now historic tankers including some footage of T-123 which crashed in 2002.

Direct link to video from Alan Simmons on Youtube

Remembering P-2 Neptune Tankers, retired but not forgotten

The last of Neptune Aviation's Lockheed P-2 Neptune tankers were retired in the fall of 2017. When I began this blog on aerial wildland firefighting in late 2008, I learned about what tankers can do through seeing videos, photographs and some livestream of you and your cousin, Aero Unions Lockheed P-3 Orions fly fires.

You and your crew worked hard over the years, you saved a lot of lives. We lost some of you and your crew -- T-11 T-42, T-9, T-4, T-8 -- your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.

We lost Minden Air T-99. Minden Air T-55 and T-48 were both damaged in an incident, the crew survived. All were Lockheed P-2 Neptunes

These three videos by scorched sky productions honor the service of Neptune Aviation's Lockheed P-2 Neptune tankers.

It is my loss that I never had the privilege of seeing any of you in person while you were in service flying fires. Some of you are at air museums, perhaps I'll see you there.


Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production


Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production



Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production

2018 fire season: Redmond Hotshots

Yesterday I shared a 2016 video about the Redmond (OR) Air Center. The Redmond Interagency Hotshots are based at the Redmond Air Center. I hope you enjoy their 2018 crew video summarizing their 2018 fire season.


direct link to video on Youtube

About Redmond (OR) Air Center

Enjoy this 2016 video by the US Forest Service about the Air Center in Redmond Oregon. In this four minute video you will get a brief overview of the various wildfire services based at Redmond: hotshots, smoke jumpers, air tankers, cache, and a training center


direct link to Youtube video by the US Forest Service

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

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.