Aircraft Working Wildfires: Off Season Maintenance

When aircraft working wildfires such as airtankers, helicopters, and lead planes, etc. are either finished for the season or are between contracts (see for example my October 16th post on Coulson T-132 having maintenance before going to Australia), major maintenance takes place. To the best of my knowledge, the time table (usually hours flown) and what types of maintenance tasks take place at different times is set forth in the United States by FAA requirements and perhaps also stated in the contracts, some items will be specific to the aircraft model. While I do not know what happens during what I am referring to as major aircraft maintenance, I know that there is a pretty comprehensive list covering all the systems on an aircraft that have to inspected, replaced, etc. during major maintenance. 

Some aircraft maintenance happens more often, what I will call for these purposes routine maintenance. I do not know the nature of routine maintenance of aircraft working wildfires, but from what I know of small aircraft, minor maintenance includes but not limited to oil, filters are performed more often and in the world of aircraft working wildfires may be done at night but I am not quite certain. And of course, if an aircraft as an issue that arose requiring maintenance, that aircraft will be pulled off the line until the issue is addressed by the maintenance crews.

I must acknowledge that I am not an expert or otherwise in the know about the specifics of aircraft maintenance That being said I want to speak to the importance of the maintenance of all aircraft including aircraft used to fight wildfires to keep the aircraft safe/ During the off season, so to speak, the contractors supplying aircraft for working wildfires are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs, they are busy performing maintenance of their aircraft.

The Facebook post that I am embedding below is from AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting who maintains a fleet of CL-415 amphibious aircraft, and Avro RJ85 AT and Dash 400 AT aircraft. You will see some photos of their winter maintenance of their CL-415 aircraft receiving maintenance.

Wildfire History: 2003 San Diego County Wildfires (part 2)

On October 25th I wrote about the 2003 Cedar Fire that burned 280,278 acres killing fifteen and destroying over 2,800 buildings. When my sister who lives in San Diego County wrote me on the 25th after I had made this post sharing an article from NBC7 in San Diego, I knew that I had write a follow-up article. Unfortunately, the link that she sent me no longer works, but I did find an article on NBC7 in San Diego dated October 25th looking at San Diego's firestorm twenty years later, I knew that I had to write this post because people I love live in San Diego County and to let them know that I care. Twelve years ago I visited San Diego County and spent a day driving in the Ramona area, one of the towns severely impacted by the Cedar Fire. This is a good article with a nine minute video where an NBC 7 reporter talked to three fire chiefs who worked the fires. In addition to the Cedar Fire, there were two other fires that affected San Diego County twenty years ago, the Otay Fire and the Paradise Fire. I was very moved as I watched this video. I don't know how long this link will remain active. As always, I never know how long this link will be active. I was unable to embed the video, so I hope that you go the link that I referred to above to watch this video.

The report from NBC 7 includes some stats for the three fires, I have always mentioned the Cedar Fire. The Paradise Fire burned 56,700 acres, killing two, 413 structures were lost. The Otay Mesa fire burned 46,291 acres, and six structures were lost. In the time since. there have been changes to how wildfires are fought, the NBC7 reports states that "because of the Cedar Fire, better response practices have been put into place. It prompted changes in firefighting strategy that led to improvements in how crews respond to wildfire today." A little later in the report, there is another video where Fire Chief Ken Kremensky (Barona) "talked about what it was like to be one of the first on scene during the Cedar Fire – which was burning so fast, at times all they could do was help neighbors escape."

I end with some raw video, also shared by NBC7, of the Cedar Fire.

Direct link to video from NBC7 San Diego

Wildfire History: 2003 Cedar Fire (San Diego County, CA)

 In case anyone is wondering, I made an error in my first blog post today where I tried to embed a Facebook post on Santa Ana Winds in Southern California. Unfortunately that did not work out so I m here again with a slightly different post. 

One of the wildfires that I have heard about over the years that I have been writing this blog is the 2003 Cedar Fire that burned 280,278 acres in San Diego County, 28,676 acres burned in the City of San Diego. and. The fire was started on October 25, 2003 by a lost hunter in the Cleveland National Forest, 25 miles east of San Diego. Fifteen people died as a result of the Cedar Fire and 2,820 buildings were destroyed. I need to be honest and say that the Cedar Fire was not on my mind until a close friend who lives in San Diego County and supports my work on this blog sent me this article by Teri Figueroa for the San Diego Tribune. Figueroa wrote a nice article on the history of the Cedar Fire along with some reflections from some folk who lived through that fire.

My sister lives in the San Diego area, I do think about this fire from time to time, so I post this to say that I won't forget. May those who died in this fire rest in peace and prayers for their family and friends on this day. Kudos to all the firefighters who worked this fire.

The video that I share below is from CBS 8 San Diego, they are reporting on the Cedar Fire all week, I believe that the video report below is dated October 25, 2023.

Direct link to video from CBS 8 San Diego on YouTube

NJ Forest Fire Service: Deployments out of NJ (October 20th)

 I wrote in early August that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS)  had a crew that was deployed to New Mexica to help work wildfires there, and in early July the NJFFS sent some engines to California to assist in their wildfire season. When I began this blog about 15 years ago, I did not fully appreciate the assistance that goes in both structure fire fighting and wildland firefighting, especially wildland fire fighting. The mutual aid that local fire companies provide to state or federal wildland fire fighting agencies for structure protection is invaluable. While some structures can not be saved, some can be saved. Just this fire season, I know for a fact that local fire companies provided an invaluable service to the NJFFS during a very busy fire season. Many residences and businesses in New Jersey were saved. Just as local fire companies provide assistance to wildland fire crews, out of state crews offer invaluable resources to States where local wildfire crews and equipment may be stretched thin, the support of crews and engines from of State is important.

When the call comes to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service to send crews and/or engines out of state, they respond. When New Jersey Forest Fire Service engines and crews are deployed out of state, they do not leave New Jersey hard up for wildland fire crews and engines. Likewise, if New Jersey were to put the call out for support of other state wildland firefighting agencies, they would respond. Having said that, I am not aware that such a call by the NJFFS for help from other state wildland firefighting agencies.

I am honored and proud of all NJFFS engines and crews who are deployed out of state. At the time I write this, I am aware that according to a October 20th Resource Summary from the National Interagency Fire Center (this links updates frequently during the season so what you see may be different) that the NJFFS does have engines (with crew) deployed out of state. Specifically, I see three engines (type 6?) plus crew deployed to Alabama. 

2023 Canadian Wildfire Season: Summary of the Season

Like many of you, I have been following the 2023 wildfire season in Canada, by far the worst season on record. My heart goes out to all those affected by these wildfires, residents and businesses who lost structures, those who were evacuated, and the wildland firefighters from around Canada with international support. I have been interested in finding a summary of the season when I came across a video from The Weather Network, thanks to my friends from the NJ Forest Fire Service who shared this video yesterday on their home page (updated daily). According to the information presented in this video, there were 6,573 wildfires (to date) in Canada in 2023. The video has some graphics and maps, a nice map detailing the wildfire activity by province, and short discussions of some wildfires.

Direct link to video from The Weather Network on YouTube

Behind the Scenes with Coulson Transforming to Coulson Livery

 I don't know about you, but I enjoy seeing how a future airtanker is transformed to her new livery. This is a behind the scenes look at the transformation of BALDER to Coulson Tanker 138. This video that Coulson shared on their Facebook Page is a little over two minutes long. Enjoy.

2023-24 Australian Bush Fire Season: Coulson T-132 Going to Australia Soon

Coulson T-132, one of Coulson's C-130 Hercules air tankers, has recently finished her 2023 contract with the US Forest Service and is currently undergoing maintenance. When this maintenance is completed she will go to Australia, perhaps by cargo ship, where she will go on contract with New South Wales in Australia for their summer fire season. She will be based in Richmond, New South Wales. See this March 2023 article in SkiesMag for more information on Coulson's fleet of C-130's. Coulson's C-130 Hercules air tankers have a 4,000 gallon RADS-XXL tanking system that can be rolled on and off the tanker.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service: New CH47 Added to Aviation Fleet

 As the bush fire season in New South Wales (NSW) Australia is underway, I wanted to find a little more information about their fleet of firefighting aircraft including the new addition of a CH47 Chinook Helicopter to their fleet. I knew that I had read that the NSW Rural Fire Service had acquired a CH47 Chinook in the last 3 or 4 months, and a little digging in my email revealed that Mike Archer had shared an article in his August 7th Wildfire News of the Day newsletter about this acquisition, he referenced this August 7th  article in Helicopter Investor discussing this purchase. 

Rob Rogers, commissioner, RFS said: “The Chinook carries a similar load to a 737 large air tanker but can fill up and turn around faster, protecting people and homes from fires." ...

The CH-47 is powered by two Lycoming T55 turboshaft engines, mounted on each side of the helicopter’s rear pylon and connected to the rotors by drive shafts. The aircraft’s counter-rotating rotors eliminate the need for an antitorque vertical rotor. This enables all the power to be used for lift and thrust. The ability to adjust lift in either rotor makes it less sensitive to changes in the centre of gravity, important for the cargo lifting and dropping, such as when deployed on firefighting missions.

The CH47 arrived in NSW in late July or early August. At present it can carry up to 10,000 liters (or 2,641 gallons) in a bambi bucket. During the (Australian) winter of 2024 an internal tank capable of carrying 11,000 liters (or 2,905 gallons). 

Direct link to YouTube video from Sky News Australia

I thought that you might be interested in reading a July 2023 article in the Aerial Fire Magazine on the NSW Rural Fire Service's aerial firefighting fleet that may be found here. I was glad to read this article because they referred to other aircraft in the NSW fleet: six Bell 412 helicopters, a 737 Fireliner "Marie Bashier", two Cessna Citations for fire mapping and monitoring, and a third fixed wing aircraft. In addition I learned more about the NSW Rural Fire Service's aviation resources and how they are used in aerial firefighting. Finally, I just saw an interesting article on Aerial Fire (dated October 13th) reporting that Australia's largest firefighting helicopter, which I think is the CH47, was used to retrieve a submerged vehicle from a body of water.

2023 Wildfire Season: Argentina Wildfire

As we are well into fall here in the mid-atlantic area of the United States with winter coming in two months, it is spring and will soon be summer in Argentina. While I was perusing the wildfire tab on my News App on my devices, I noted an October 11th story (with a video) from Sky News about a wildfire that has been burning in the Cordoba Province in Argentina (South America), go here to read the story and see the video

A man who started a campfire that grew out of control has been detained. There are evacuations in place. About 960 firefighters with the support of eight air tankers and two helicopters are working this wildfire. An unknown number of residences are affected. I do not know how many acres have been burned.

Direct link to video on YouTube from Mirror Now

How New Jersey Forest Fire Service is Using Their $3M Budget Boost

 A couple of weeks ago, I made a post reporting about the $3 Million boost to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service's (NJFFS) Budget, see my September 22nd post for more information. While I had an idea of how the NJFFS would use these funds, e.g some will be used to purchase new vehicles and to modernize their fleet. Thanks to an October 5th report by CBS Philadelphia who provided a behind the scenes glimpse into how the NJFFS is using these funds to assemble new fire fighting vehicles.

Direct link to video on YouTube from CBS Philadelphia

KC-135 Stratotanker "The Flying Tiger" has left New Jersey

Fairly soon after I started blogging on aerial wildland firefighting I first learned about the KC-135 Stratotanker, flown by the U.S. Airforce as well as other international operators. I don't quite recall my what my friend told me about the KC-135, but I did know that she had almost no use in aerial wildland firefighting and that her primary use was for mid-air refueling and hauling cargo. This factoid got me interested so as I was perusing various aviation videos, especially military aviation, I would pay attention to mid-air refueling such as the time the U.S. navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds did flyovers of some major metropolitan areas in April 2020 to honor healthcare workers during COVID, here is my article on the flyover in NY, NJ, and PA in April 2020. I believe, but am not certain that I saw a mid-air refueling while I was watching either the videos I shared or some other videos of flyovers in the U.S. that I did not share. The 108th Refueling Wing at McGuire Air Force Base used to have several KC-135 Stratotankers, the last one, known as the Flying Tiger, departed on September 20th for her next duty assignment in Bangor, Maine. While I did know that there were KC-135 Stratotankers at McGuire, I am embarrassed to say that I did not about the Flying Tiger with her distinctive black and orange colors and New Jersey logo on the tail. The black and orange colors were to honor Hobey Baker, a Princeton graduate who was a decorated fighter pilot in World War 1. Baker died shortly after WWI ended. 

New Jersey Advance Media has a nice article on the send off of the Flying Tiger to Banger, written on October 1st, the article may be found here (it should be freely available). Here is an excerpt from the October 1st article about the Flying Tiger, Lawler is Lt. Col Chris Lawler who commanded the Flying Tiger's final flight out of McGuire to Bangor Maine:

Built in 1960, the plane dubbed the “flying tiger” is the last of a group of KC-135 model of Stratotanks that was attached to the 108th Refueling Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The Stratotank, which Lawlor described as a “workhorse,” has a boom that attaches a line to another plane for refueling in the air, a neat maneuver at 20,000 feet when you’re flying at 300 knots (about 345 mph).

With more than 60 years in the air, the KC-135 has seen action in Vietnam, Kosovo, and all the conflicts in the Middle East: the Persian Gulf War, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. With its huge cargo space, the KC-135 has also been used for medical evacuation and to deliver humanitarian aid. Among its missions, the KC-135 spent several weeks delivering pallets of bottled water to New Orleans in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina.

McGuire's KC-135 Stratotankers have been replaced with the newer KC-46.

Emergency Alert System Test in the United States on Oct 4th at 2:20 PM

I was wondering what to prepare today for my usual post on Wednesdays because I am going with friends to spend some time at Sandy Hook in New Jersey when I remembered the test FEMA is conducting tomorrow. This test has gotten lots of publicity on various news outlets and other sources on the internet so I really don't think any of you need me to tell you about this test. However, safety is very important to me and I respect all those, including separate non-FEMA affiliated state and local alert systems (not covered under tomorrows test), who try to warn us to keep us safe. So, posting on this test fits in with my interests.

So, getting to the point, FEMA is conducting a test of the emergency alert system on Wednesday, Oct 4th at 2:20 PM ET. If you have a smart phone capable of receiving WEA alerts you will get a test message. TVs and Radios will receive emergency alerts. I have received such alerts for weather, either tornado warnings or snow squall warnings and I am grateful I did. The video I shared below is from WSBT in Idaho. I thought it odd that I could not find something on YouTube from a media outlet closer to me, but I may not have been looking hard enough. In any event the video from WSBT applies to all of us in the United States.

Direct link to video from WSBT on YouTube

FEMA has a press release about this test, they say in part:

All wireless phones should receive the message only once. The following can be expected from the nationwide WEA test:

▪ Beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, cell towers will broadcast the test for approximately 30 minutes. During this time, WEA-compatible wireless phones that are switched on, within range of an active cell tower, and in a geographic area where the wireless provider participates in WEA, should be capable of receiving the test message. 

▪ For consumers, the message that appears on their phones will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

▪ Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will display: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia.  No se necesita acción.”

▪ Similar to when your phone receives an Amber Alert, the WEA alert tone is generally only played when the alert is initially received by the phone and on some devices stops as soon as the user clicks a button.

▪ If a phone is off before the test alert is sent and not turned back on until after the WEA Test expires (approximately 30 minutes), the phone should not get the test message.

WEA alerts are created and sent by authorized federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies through IPAWS to participating wireless providers, which deliver the alerts to compatible handsets in geo-targeted areas. To help ensure that these alerts are accessible to the entire public, including people with disabilities, the alerts are accompanied by a unique tone and vibration. 

Summer Bushfire Season Started in New South Wales Australia on October 1st

I follow the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service on Facebook partly because I have some friends and family who live(d) in New South Wales but also because for reasons that are hard to explain, I have grown to care about that particular Australian State. But I want to say that I care about the whole country of Australia. So as the Australian summer fire season continues I will try to pay attention, as I can, to bush fires in all of Australia. Anyway, I don't know about the rest of Australia, but I know that the summer bush fire season or what Australians call the Bush Fire Danger Period started on October 1st.

One thing I get from following the NSW Rural Fire Service on Facebook is an idea of the number of bush fires burning across the State of NSW and in their posts they link to how residents of NSW can stay informed of bush fires near them through the NSW Rural Fire Service's Hazards Near Me website  they also have a smart phone app. The post I embed below is dated October 2nd.