First a brief update on the two crew modules from NJ deployed to Wyoming. The NJ Highlands module will be returning home tomorrow. The NJ Pinelands module is "assigned to the Freeze Out Fire near Sheridan, WY. 10 acre fire. Directing bucket drops, digging line. Most resources have left the area. Module is doing well. No new information. (obtained from Eastern Area Interagency Report (IARR) and the NJFFS Section B10 webpage on August 28, 2020 (note that information on these two dates is update frequently and what you see when you go to these sites may be different).
Several engines and crew from the NJ Forest Fire Service and the Pennsylvania DCNR took four days to drive 3,000 miles across country to California to help out with the wildfires in that State. I am very, very proud. You honor us with your service. Here is a short video from KSBW 8 showcasing the NJFFS engines that recently arrived in California, some of the engines will be working the CZU Lightning Complex. Another NJFFS engine is assigned to the Elkhorn Fire. I don't know all the fires that the engines are deployed to, and will see if I can find a complete list of the fires where the PA and NJ engines are deployed.
I am very, very proud of the modules and engine crews from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. You are helping provide much needed support to the crew in California fight wildfires. I can not be of direct help, but you are helping where we in New Jersey and Pennsylvania can not. You honor with with your service in California. Stay safe.
I am deeply saddened to be writing about another wildland fire aviation fatality. On Monday, August 24th, a Kmax helicopter (type 1) crashed while doing bucket drops on the White River Fire in the Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon. According to Oregon Live (August 25th), the KMax was on contract with the U.S. Forest Service. The only occupant of the Kmax, the pilot, was the only fatality. The wildland firefighting has lost yet another one of their firefighting family.
The US Forest Service had initially announced yesterday afternoon that they were not releasing the name of the pilot pending notification of the family. However, by early evening, the pilot was identified.
The pilot was Tom Duffy (40) of Bozeman, Montana. He was identified in a press release from his Church, the Seventh Day Adventists. Thanks to Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation for his August 26th article and the link to the Gleaner Now: Northwest Adventists in Action (August 25th) article about Tom Duffy. Tom was an active member of the Adventists in Bozeman Montana and a leader in their Northwest organization. He was deeply committed to the Adventists and much loved by the Adventist community in Bozeman and in their Northwest organization. He is survived by his wife, Robyn and his three children.
Hearts in and outside of the wildland firefighting community that were already broken by the August 19th helicopter crash and the July 31st SEAT mid-air collision are broken yet again.
Tom, you were doing good service making bucket drops from your KMax over the White River Fire when you died. You loved your family, your church, and your flying buddies. You died protecting the Mt. Hood National Forest, an area that had special meaning for some in my family. I thank-you for this. I will always remember your service and your sacrifice. I offer my sincere prayers for your family, church family, friends, colleagues and all who loved you.
On August 19th, Michael John Fournier died while making bucket drops with his helicopter over the Hills Fire in Fresno County California. The picture and tweet below are from CAL FIRE.
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| obtained on August 25, 2020 from pic.twitter.com/gZlV9E3cV5 |
We are deeply saddened to report the passing of a pilot aboard a Call When Needed helicopter that crashed yesterday, August 19th while providing support at the #HillsFire in Fresno County. We send our sympathies to the family during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/gZlV9E3cV5
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) August 20, 2020
While I am a little late in making this post, my prayers have been with Michael's family, friends, colleagues and all who loved him as they mourn his loss. I was very moved to read an August 20th report on ABC10 San Diego where he flew as a back-up news helicopter pilot. I know that his former colleagues loved him and miss him. Please take a couple of moments to read this article. I can not access the video in the report, happens some times, but there are a couple of photos of Michael. Here is an excerpt:
Timothy Gaughen, a former ABC 10News photojournalist, said working beside Fournier was one of the high points in his career.
"Fast, efficient, fun, it was always great. It was always enjoyable," Gaughen said. "There's certain people you remember from your career. I still remember it as if it was yesterday ... Just a pleasant, pleasant personality."
Gaughen said when it was time to get in the air, Fournier was an absolute professional.
I wrote about the fatal mid-air collision of two single-engine airtankers over the Bishop Fire near Caliente, Nevada on July 31st. The Nevada Office of the Bureau of Land Management updated their press release about the crashes on August 20th to add the names of the two pilots killed in the fatal mid-air collision. They are David Blake Haynes and Scott Thomas.
David and Scott, I offer my prayers for your families, colleagues, friends and all who loved you and are mourning your loss. You were making drops on the fire to help the firefighters on the ground and to save lives. The sacrifice you made while flying the Bishop Fire will not be forgotten. I know that you are flying in favorable winds. Please know that I will always remember your sacrifice and that of your tankers.
For the last couple of days, my thoughts have been on the severe wildfire outbreak in California. As I sit here in (for the moment) relatively tranquil New Jersey, I find that my words our wholly inadequate. A helicopter pilot was killed in a fatal crash on August 19th (ABC30 report), a PG&E employee also died. At least two other fatalities have been reported. As usual, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today does his usual good job of reporting, here is his August 21st article. Thousands of people are under evacuation orders and this during a pandemic.
Here is a brief summary from a CAL FIRE August 21st update:
Nearly 12,000 firefighters are battling nearly two dozen major fires and complexes across California. Overnight firefighters continued to make progress despite extreme weather conditions. Since the lightning siege started on Saturday, August 15, 2020 there have been nearly 12,000 lightning strikes. During this time-period, there have been more than 560 new wildfires, most of which have been contained due to aggressive firefighting. Those fires have burned over 771,00 acres in total.
Thanks to Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day newsletter for August 21st, I found a satellite image taken from GOES-17 of smoke over California from the wildfires. I obtained the image on August 20th from NASA's Earth Observatory website. They say in part:
The map below shows the concentration of black carbon particulates—commonly called soot—at 12:30 a.m. on August 20. Black carbon can harm humans and other animals by entering the lungs and bloodstream; it also plays a role in global warming. The black carbon data come from the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model, which assimilates data from satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observing systems. In this case, GEOS-FP assimilated fire and aerosol observations with meteorological data on air temperature, moisture, and winds to project the behavior and extent of the plume.
I want to acknowledge and thank all the wildland firefighters in the air and on the ground working in very difficult conditions. I understand that there may not be enough of you. You are working very hard. I offer my prayers for all the residents affected by these fires and for the firefighters. Heed evacuation orders. Stay safe. Take care of each other.
Thanks to my friend at the NJFFS Section B10 and their newly redesigned website who now posts fire videos of current interest on their home page (changes daily). Late last week they shared a nice video, just under five minutes of a Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) flying initial attack on the Brandel wildfire, a smaller wildfire in southeast Wyoming. I was intrigued about the video of this SEAT (T-889) flying initial attack on this fire with great videography that intrigued me, so I knew I had to write about this video. Here are a couple of images from Google Earth to provide a geographic reference.
Actually, there is not much that I can say about this wildfire. The video was uploaded on August 13 over the Brandel Fire which burned 60 miles south east of Casper Wyoming. I did an internet search and *think* I found a short article about the Brandel fire on Oil City News (August 7th) that provided a couple pieces of additional information: the fire started on August 7th and burned 168 acres near Wheatland, WY at the time the article was written. I have no further information on this fire. From watching the video (there are some radio communications), it appears that in addition to T-889, three other SEATS flew initial attack on this fire: T-832, T-862, and T-864. In addition, it appears that two helicopters were working the fire.
If I am correct in reading the credits at the end of the video, T-889 and 832 are based at the Casper (WY) SEAT Base, that is at the Casper/Natrona County International Airport. In addition to hosting a SEAT Base, the airport also hosts a base to support Large Airtankers, see this August 4th Facebook post for more information.
Direct link to video by High Speed Productions on Youtube
I suspect that many of you have heard various websites refer to the National Preparedness Level, a five level scale where as you go up the scale from 1 to 5. I find the current National Preparedness Level on the main fire info page of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) . Rather than try to do a perhaps inadequate job of explaining this to you, I thought that I go to the horses mouth, so to speak. I don't know about you, but I do find it useful to know what each level means, so I went to the NIFC website to learn more. We are currently at Preparedness Level 4, and depending on when you read this, the preparedness level may be higher or lower.
So here goes, you may download a pdf file about the National Preparedness Levels from the NIFC here.
The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (NMAC) establishes Preparedness Levels throughout the calendar year to help assure that firefighting resources are ready to respond to new incidents. Preparedness Levels are dictated by fuel and weather conditions, fire activity, and resource availability.
The five Preparedness Levels range from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest level. Each Preparedness Level has specific management directions. As the Preparedness Levels rise, more federal and state employees become available for fire mobilization if needed.
Preparedness Level 1
- Geographic Areas accomplish incident management objectives utilizing local resources with little or no national support.
- Conditions are not favorable to support significant wildland fire activity in most geographic areas.
- Resource capability is adequate with little or no mobilization of resources occurring through the National Interagency Coordination Center.
- Potential for emerging significant wildland fires is expected to remain minimal.
Preparedness Level 2
- Active Geographic Areas (GA's) are unable to independently accomplish incident management objectives. Resource capability remains stable enough nationally to sustain incident operations and meet objectives in active GA's.
- Significant wildland fire activity is increasing in a few geographic areas.
- Resources within most geographic areas are adequate to manage the current situation, with light to moderate mobilization of resources occurring through the National Interagency Coordination Center.
- Potential for emerging significant wildland fires is normal to below normal for the time of year.
Preparedness Level 3
- Mobilization of resources nationally is required to sustain incident management operations in the active Geographic Areas (GA's). National priorities established as a necessary measure to address the heavy and persistent demand for shared resources among active GA's.
- Significant wildland fire activity is occurring in multiple geographic areas, with Incident Management Teams (IMTs) actively engaged.
- Mobilization of resources through the National Interagency Coordination Center is moderate to heavy.
- Potential for emerging significant wildland fires is normal for the time of year.
Preparedness Level 4
- Shared resources are heavily committed. National mobilization trends affect all Geographic Areas (GA's) and regularly occur over larger and larger distances. National priorities govern resources of all types. Heavy demand on inactive/low activity GA's with low levels of activity for available resources.
- Significant wildland fire activity is occurring in multiple geographic areas; significant commitment of Incident Management Teams.
- NICC increasingly engages GACCs in an effort to coordinate and fill orders for available resources.
- Potential for significant incidents emerging in multiple GA’s indicates that resource demands will continue or increase.
Preparedness Level 5
- National mobilization is heavily committed and measures need to be taken to support GA's. Active GA's must take emergency measures to sustain incident operations.
- Full commitment of national resources is ongoing.
- Resource orders filled at NICC by specifically coordinating requests with GACCs as resources become available.
- Potential for emerging significant wildland fires is high and expected to remain high in multiple geographic areas.
Obtained on August 17, 2020 from https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireinfo_prepLevels.html
Late last week, I came across a very cool video on NJ Advance Media's website, fortunately it is on their Youtube channel making it easy to share with you. It is funny, I meant to share it earlier this week but got distracted with my other posts. Just yesterday I realized that I had meant to post this earlier, and then realized that this video will make a good post in my occasional Friday Fun series of posts. So here goes, many of you either at a beach or elsewhere have probably seen banner planes towing a banner. Whether or not you agree with the banner that they are being paid to tow, they certainly can get your attention. At least they get mine. I admit that I did not know a lot about banner towing. Thanks to this video from NJ Advance Media, I learned a little more about the risks involved in towing banners. Kudos to the pilots.
Direct Link to video on Youtube from NJ Advance Media (NJ.com)
August 17th update: The NJ Storm module is being demobilized from service in Wyoming and will be replaced by the NJ NJS#3 module aka NJ Pinelands. The NJ Pinelands module will be traveling to Wyoming today, see this FB post from the NJFFS Section B10.
August 14th
I wrote on August 3rd about a 10-person NJFFS module, NJ Storm, that was deployed to Wyoming. The NJ Storm module left New Jersey for Wyoming on or about August 2nd. According to my friends at NJFFS Section B10, they worked the Bull Lake Fire in Wyoming (information not available) until they were released on August 11th returning to the staging area in Wyoming await assignment to another fire. Their rotation out west should be ending on or about August 17th. Sadly, I have no photos to show you or link to, but I understand that they did good work on the Bull Lake Fire and may have been aided by some large or very large air tankers in addition to other air support.
Yesterday, August 11th, the NJFFS Section B10 posted on Facebook that a second 10-person NJFFS module, known as NJ Highlands, was deployed to Wyoming for a fourteen day deployment. I know no details, perhaps they are in a staging or pre-position area awaiting assignment to a fire.
These two 10-person modules from New Jersey are but two of several modules from the Eastern Area deployed out west. The information about Eastern area crews deployed outside the eastern area is updated daily by the Eastern Area Coordination Center. Current information may be found on the Eastern Area Interagency Resource Representative Report, the latest report may be found here (only updated while crews are on assignment outside of the eastern area). I am glad that modules and crews from the eastern area are deployed to other areas of the United States to help local wildland fire crews work wildfires.
I am proud of the crews from my own State of New Jersey and all the other eastern area crews. You honor us by your service fighting wildfires outside the eastern area. Stay safe.
I last wrote about the deployment of NWS Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) on July 3rd. In referring to the US National Weather Service IMET Facebook page, and if my counting is correct, I have counted 20 IMET deployments since July 3rd, mostly to wildfires in the western United States. Of those 20 deployments, five have occurred since August 2nd. I will focus on the last five deployments here.
On August 2nd, an IMET from the US NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard Office was deployed to the Apple Fire that is burning near Cherry Valley CA. As I write this, the wildfire has burned 32,905 acres.
On August 3rd IMETs were deployed to these fires:
Three days after Tropical Storm Isaias slammed New Jersey, adjoining states and New England, portions of New Jersey are still without power. I won't get into the details here, most of you have probably seen local or national news reporting on Isaias.
I took a drive around my part of the State to see if I could find a stopped utility truck to take some photos for you. I passed five on local highway but as I was driving, I was unable to take a photo for you. Then there were about four utility trucks (by the colors of the trucks I think that they were from out of state) that passed my house yesterday, including one that stopped after my power was turned back on. They were making repairs on an outage near my house, necessitating shutting off my power for a little over an hour. I was not thinking nor was a wearing a mask, so I thanked the lineman from a distance, and did not think to ask him if I could take a photo of his truck.
I drove by the staging area a few miles from my house for utility crews. I did enter, wanting to respect Covid restrictions. Covid restrictions probably explained why I did not see utility trucks parked on breaks.
Just before going home, I did see a utility truck parked at an intersection near an outage that was reported by the local utility. So I grabbed a not so great photo for you. Perhaps later this weekend I will be able to get some more photos for you, or perhaps not. I know that utility crews have come from out of state to help restore power. There is a lot of tree damage around the state, I saw a lot of downed trees on people's lawns as well as cut-up trees near areas where I knew there were outages. The tree guys have to come first to take care of the trees before the utility linemen can work on restoring power.
I write this and show this not so great photo of just one utility truck as a way of thanking all of the local and out of state crews (utility crews and tree removal crews)who are helping us in New Jersey (and adjoining states) get our power back. This utility truck is one of hundreds helping us.
I also want to thank the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Crews who have been working in our parks cutting trees that came down in Isaias.
Thank-you. Thank-you. Thank-you