Over the last several days Neptune Aviation Services tanker pilots and their fleet of BAe 146 aircraft and lead planes have been undergoing training in preparation for the upcoming wildfire season. I do not know when the first of Neptunes BAe 146 air tankers goes on contract, probably soon.
Enjoy these short posts from Neptunes Facebook Page
As I write this in late March, Coulson Aviation continues to fly fire in Chile South America. I am embedding a short clip from the Coulson Aviation Facebook Page of Tanker 131 working a fire in Chile.
Coulson Aviation's fleet of Airtankers not only work in the United States as many of you know the Coulson fleet also has contracts overseas, for example in Australia and South America. I hope you enjoy this video from Coulson Aviation where you will learn a little about their fleet of large air tankers and their work outside of the United States and Canada.
I did know about the March 21st Red Flag Warning issued by the National Weather Service in Mt. Holly NJ for central and southern New Jersey. Time got away from me yesterday and I would normally post about a Red Flag Warning on the day of the warning. I did check some local media as well as the NJ Forest Fire Service Facebook account to see if there were any major wildfires yesterday. I did not see any information about major wildfires yesterday, all this means is that I am not aware of any major wildfires in New Jersey on March 21st, I would suspect that there were smaller brush and wildfires. A link to the text that I posted below may be found here.
URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
858 AM EDT Thu Mar 21 2024
...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED TODAY...
.Low fuel moistures, low daytime relative humidity values, and breezy conditions will result in critical fire weather conditions through the early evening hours. Any fires that develop may become difficult to contain.
NJZ012>027-212300-
/O.NEW.KPHI.FW.W.0001.240321T1258Z-240321T2300Z/
Middlesex-Western Monmouth-Eastern Monmouth-Mercer-Salem-Gloucester-Camden-Northwestern Burlington-Ocean-Cumberland-Atlantic-Cape May-Atlantic Coastal Cape May-Coastal Atlantic-Coastal Ocean-Southeastern Burlington-
858 AM EDT Thu Mar 21 2024
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY...
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity, which is in effect until 7 PM EDT this evening.
* AFFECTED AREA...Middlesex, Western Monmouth, Eastern Monmouth, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Northwestern Burlington, Ocean, Cumberland, Atlantic, Cape May, Atlantic Coastal Cape May, Coastal Atlantic, Coastal Ocean and Southeastern Burlington.
* TIMING...Through early this evening.
* WINDS...Northwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 21 percent.
* TEMPERATURES...Up to 45.
* IMPACTS...The combination of dry conditions, low relative humidity, and gusty winds will result in favorable conditions for the rapid spread of fires. Any fires that develop may become difficult to contain.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels. Any fires that develop may quickly get out of control and become difficult to contain.
For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions, and wildfire prevention and education, please visit your state orestry or environmental protection website.
&&
$$
Kruzdlo
While we are in the early days of the spring wildfire season which started in New Jersey on March 15, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) continues to conduct prescribed burns (Rx) on NJ Dept of Environmental Protections (DEP). In addition the NJFFS has an application process for private landowners wanting prescribed burns on their property, some of this prescribed burns on privately owned lands are being conducted today, March 20th according to the NJFFS Prescribed Burn Fire Dashboard. The NJFFS Prescribed Burn Fire Dashboard is a map that lists Rx burns being conducted on the current date known as active burns and scheduled Rx burns that are planned to be conducted over the next five days, if there are not active or scheduled burns the map will be empty. Because the dashboard is updated daily and there is no mechanism to link to a static version on the NJFFS website I am not making a copy to display. But I can see and I hope that you will trust me that today, March 20th, prescribed burns on privately owned lands are being conducted across the State (Sussex County in northern NJ, Mercer County in central NJ, and Cape May County in southern NJ. If you want a better idea of where these counties are located you may follow the above link to the NJFFS Prescribed Burn Fire Dashboard and zoom in a little to see county names, this should work outside of the prescribed burn seasons.
I do know that prescribed burns were conducted on March 16th through the 19th, both from the NJ Forest Fire Service Facebook page and from e-mail notifications that I receive. However, unlike for prescribed burns done earlier in March there is no listing of the exact location of these burns, nor are past burns shown on the NJFFS Prescribed Burn Fire Dashboard. I can see from todays Dashboard the prescribed burns are scheduled across all of New Jersey in the next five days (March 21 to 26) in Sussex County (northern NJ), Somerset County (central NJ), Monmouth County (central NJ) Ocean County (southern NJ), and Atlantic County (southern NJ).
Tom Janney who was my mentor in the first couple of years of my blog on aerial wildland firefighting died on March 9, 2024. Tom, may you rest in peace and fly in favorable winds, My prayers are with your wife Debbie and all of your many friends in the wildland firefighting community and elsewhere loved you.
I want to take some time in today’s post to share about how Tom mentored me and other ways he helped me.
As some of you know, I first got interested in wildland firefighting in late summer of 2008 and I began to learn on my own about wildland firefighting. Since I had this blog at this time, I began to share what I was learning about wildland firefighting. I knew that if I was to continue to blog on aerial wildand firefighting that I would need some help, so At some point in early 2009 I went to a couple of now defunct wildland firefighting forums on the web sharing about my interest in wildland firefighting and my blog. That is how I first met Tom Janney, who at the time I knew as TL Stein. Tom told me that he used to be a pilot who flew fires in California for what was then known as the California Department of Forestry, now known as CAL FIRE. He told me that he was an aviation historian and offered to help me learn about the world of aerial wildland firefighting. I jumped at his offer to teach and mentor me about aerial wildland firefighting.
While he had not flown as a pilot in a few years when I met him online in 2009, I knew right away that he was very knowledgeable about aerial wildland firefighting.Tom’s mentorship, especially in the first months after I started to blog on aerial wildland firefighting, was crucial. Over the last couple of days since I learned that Tom had passed, I realized that I could not have made the transition to blogging about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues without Tom’s help. Early on he suggested that I write about some of the different aircraft that were flying fires at the time and he taught me about the use of retardant. He was the one who helped to guide me to reliable websites where I could learn about the aircraft flying fires at that time and just as important he taught both through our correspondence ad reliable sites some of the basics about aviation that are important.
Tom also facilitated introductions to wildland firefighting pilots that he knew who helped me as I continued to learn, some of these conversations (on and off the record) were the basis for some blog articles on the aircraft they flew. He also encouraged me to reach out to other pilots and those who provide ground support, these contacts were and continue to be very helpful, especially in the first couple of years of my blog.
I mentioned that Tom was an aviation historian, so in the few years that I was doing my blog on aerial wildland firefighting, we discussed aviation history as pertains to wildland firefighting but we also discussed other aspects of aviation history. He referred me to a couple of books and tapes that I purchased as well as referring me to some websites focusing on aviation history in general. His knowledge of aviation history has been very helpful to me not only as I was first learning about aerial wildland firefighting but as I continued to write my blog, I wanted to know more aerial wildland firefighting history.
Perhaps one of the more important things that Tom did for me in addition to his mentoring was to help me be right sized and not write beyond my abilities. That is, while I believe that he recognized and had respect for my research abilities, he knew that I was not any type of wildland firefighter on the ground or in the air. Moreover, he knew that I was not a pilot. He gently explained to me that what I can do on my blog is limited because I am not in the wildland firefighting business. While sometimes difficult, We talked about my being right sized and not writing beyond my abilities. I owe Tom a debt of gratitude for his gentle guidance that helped me to be right sized. He was the first to encourage me to write within my abilities but not the only one.
On a more personal note, as I navigated my way through learning something about general aviation through sitting in on FAA ground school and came to the hard to accept realization that I can never be a licensed pilot, he listened and supported me with understanding. One day as I was especially discouraged over not having a pilots license, I encountered a Red Tailed Hawk sitting on a utility pole and I felt comforted in a way that was hard to explain. I told Tom about this when I got home, he told me that the Hawk was releasing me into their world. That meant a lot to me. We chatted about other aviation related things.
As time went on and I had been writing the blog for a couple of years, I had more confidence and I was doing more on my own with Tom sitting by quietly. As the years went on, we gradually lost touch, that happens sometimes. We would chat every so often on social media and I saw in one social media platform that we both used how much he was respected and loved by many in the wildland firefighting community and friends.
Tom, I miss you already. However, I know that in your own way that you continue to be with me as I continue to blog about aerial wildland firefighting. You gave me a couple of aviation related tokens that I treasure even more now that you are gone. May you rest in peace and fly in favorable winds.
Direct link to video from Eyewitness News ABC7NY on YouTube
As we enter the spring wildfire season in New Jersey today, I am reminded that last years wildfire season in New Jersey was the worse in at least ten years. According to the report, data from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reveals that 1,194 wildfires burned approximately 18,000 acres in 2023. If you watch this short video, under two minutes, you will learn from NJ Forest Fire Service officials about the important role that prescribed burns have in reducing wildfire risk.
After some recent rains in New Jersey, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted prescribed burns on March 12th through 14th across New Jersey.
I have known about The Ninety-Nines for about 13 years or so from a couple of female pilots who may have been members of The Ninety-Nines. I knew from these women that The Ninety-Nines advocated for and promoted women in aviation. Around the same time, I read or reread books by or about Amelia Earhart mentioning that The Ninety-Nines were founded by 99 women pilots in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Looking at the history of The Ninety-Nines I see that they were founded in 1929 and Amelia Earhart was their first president. I know that they do a lot of good work supporting women in aviation and if I were a pilot, which I am not, I would have become a member. The following description about The Ninety-Nines is from The Ninety-Nines main webpage:
OUR MISSION — The NINETY-NINES® INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN PILOTS® promotes advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight.
Established in 1929 by 99 women pilots, the members of The Ninety-Nines, Inc.®, International Organization of Women Pilots®, are represented in all areas of aviation today. And, to quote Amelia, fly "for the fun of it!"
The Ninety-Nines have a nice YouTube channel chock full of some wonderful videos highlighting women in aviation, past and present. Here is a video that they uploaded a couple of months ago highlighting women in aviation in 2023. The video is under four minutes, enjoy.
I knew that this past Friday, March 8, 2024 was International Women's Day. I have no excuse for not paying attention to the increased role of women in aviation. I am not a pilot but I do endeavor to support women in aviation in the way that I can. So I come here to share two videos with you celebrating women in aviation.
The first video is about an all women's crew taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport on International Women's Day.
Direct link to video from PIX11 News on YouTube
The second video, from Air Link International Aviation College celebrates women in aviation.
Direct link to video from Air Link International Aviation College on YouTube
For today's Friday Fun I offer a five minute 2023 video from Coulson Aviation of their Chinook Helicopters working wildfire in California.
Direct link to video from KHOU11 on YouTube (reported early morning of March 6th)
I continue to follow the fires in the Texas panhandle. Referring to todays report (March 6th) update on Inciweb, progress is being made on all three fires with increases in containment. Of note is that containment of the Smokehouse Fire has increased to 37 percent from 15 percent two days ago. Aerial resources continue to be available to help wildland firefighters on the ground.
 |
| obtained from Inciweb on March 6, 2024 at 2 PM EST |
Direct link to video from CBS Texas on YouTube
Thanks to my friends at the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 website who shared the video that I embedded above, I learned about the Roughneck Fire which I believe was first reported on Sunday, March 4th. I did find some information about this fire on the Texas A&M Forest Service Incident Viewer (accessed March 4 at 1:50 PM); they say that the fire has burned 300 acres in Hutchinson County (in the Texas Panhandle) and is at 50 percent containment.
In the meantime, here is a report from Fox4 Dallas-Fort Worth on folk pitching in to help those devastated by the wildfires in the Texas Panhandle.
Direct link to video from Fox4 Dallas-Fort Worth on YouTube
Some news media coverage of the wildfires in the Texas Panhandle (thanks to Mike Archer of Wildfire News of the Day), most include photos.
Lastly, but by no means least, here is todays report on the larger wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle. I am especially interested in all the air resources available to the wildfires in the Texas Panhandle: 3 large airtankers, 2 scoopers, 2 lead airplanes, 6 SEATs, 2 Chinook helicopters, 1 Blackhawk helicopters and 1 Type 3 helicopter.
 |
| Obtained from Inciweb on March 4 at 1:30 PM |
I was talking to a friend from Texas yesterday, whom I will refer to as S, we were chatting about the Smokehouse Fire. At the time he thought that it had decimated Skellytown, the town where some of ancestors were from, one of his parents was born in Skellytown. Skellytown is in Carson County in the Texas panhandle. S was not born in Skellytown but lived for a few years as a boy. S told me a couple of hours later that he was mistaken when he said that Skellytown was decimated; saying it was not decimated that Skellytown still stands. He told me a little about Skellytown telling me that in its hay day, the town was an oil town and suggested that I look at the Skellytown webpage in the Texas Almanac to learn more about the town. As soon as I heard from my friend S about his family’s association with Skellytown and the few years he spent there as a boy, I knew that I had to write about Skellytown. S, this post is for you and your family. As an FYI my friend S lives over 500 miles from Skellytown. Before moving on, I want to share a map of the area that I obtained about noon on March 1st from the FIRMS US/CANADA (Fire Resource Management System US/Canada webpage. I went to their "fire map link", zoomed in and capture my screen in a jpeg file to share with you. The small red arrow in the jpeg file is pointing to Skellytown.
 |
| obtained from FIRMS US/CANADA on March 1, 2024 at 12:00 PM |
I hope you take a few minutes read the Skellytown webpage in the Texas Almanac, it is a quick read and you will learn about Skellytown. Briefly, the town was named for the Skelly Oil Company who had bought up oilfields in and around what later became Skellytown in the 1920s. By 1927 a rail line was in place to the near by town of White Deer (to the south). The town lost some population in the early 1930s declining to 154 before growing again by the mid 1940s with a population of 650. The town was incorporated in 1958, later building sewer and water infrastructure. But the early 1980s there was an elementary school, a fire station, town hall, baseball field, a library and four churches and ten businesses.
I am writing this post with some information from the NJ Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) on a change in their prescribed burning a couple of days later than intended as I was following the Smokehouse Fire in the panhandle of Texas (more on that in a later post). Anyway, in 2024 the NJFFS has increased their prescribed burning program to hopefully to prescribed burns on 25,000 acres, up from 21,900 acres. This increase is in response, at least partially, to the 2023 wildfire season in NJ where 14 major wildfires (100+ acres) burned approximately 18,000 acres in New Jersey. This made 2023 the worst wildfire season in 20 years. Prescribed burns can benefit the health of the ecosystem as well as safeguarding nearby towns.
The NJFFS conducts prescribed burns on public and privately owned lands.
The NJFFS issued a new press release on February 27th about their prescribed program which may be found here. Perhaps being aware of this press release from the NJFFS, New Jersey Advance Media has a nice February 27th article referencing this information and other information about the benefits of the prescribed burn program. The spring wildfire season in New Jersey starts on March 15th.
Both the New York City and the Philadelphia local CBS stations carried reports on the importance of the NJFFS prescribed burn program. I embed both of these videos here. I think the importance of these two report is to get the word out to both northern and southern New Jersey. In addition, if you watch both videos you will see prescribed burns in two different ecosystems.
Direct link to video from CBS New York on Youtube