2026 Wildfire Season: July 26th Update on Wildfires in Northern Minnesota

Progress continues in fighting the wildfires in Northern Minnesota. See the video from Fox9 for more information Direct link to July 26th video from Fox9 Minneapolis- St.Paul Minnesota

2026 Wildfire Season: Progress in Fighting Northern Minnesota Wildfires (July 23rd)

Direct link to July 23 video from Fox 9 Minneapolis St. Paul I am happy to report that some progess is being made in fighting wildfires in northern Minnesota, but wildfires are still active and it may be awhile before they are contained. See the video that I shared from Fox 9 Minneapolis St. Paul for more information

2026 Wildfires: Wildfires in Sicily, Italy

Direct link to July 21st video from NBC News on YouTube 

I am always interested in wildfires affecting countries outside the United States. When I saw this video about wildfires affecting Sicily, Italy I wanted to share this with you out of respect for people in Sicily, Italy

2026 Wildfires: Northern Minnesota (July 19th update)

Direct link to July 15th post from Fox9 Minneapolis-St. Paul on YouTube

The wildfires in northern Minnesota continue with smoke continuing to affect other regions of the United States and Canada. The video that I shared above, reported on July 15th is a little long, over eight minutes that includes weather information. These wildfires have burned about 70,000 acres on Friday,July 15th. Wildland firefighters discuss how they are working to keep people safe.

Friday Fun: Airtanker History from 2010

I don't know about you, but I always enjoy learning about the history of aerial firefighting. I enjoyed this video from Airailimages about air tankers that were flying in 2010 and earlier.

Direct link to October 2023 video from Airailimages on YouTube

2026 Wildfires: Wildfires Continue in Northern Minnesota

Wildfires continue in northern Minnesota, as I write this there are 17 reported wildfires in northern Minnesota. If you can not see the embedded video, please go to the link.

Direct link to July 15th video from Fox9 Minnesota on YouTube

2026 Wildfires in Northern Minnesota

I thank my friends from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10 for sharing the video on the wildfires currently burning in northern Minnesota. I wanted to find out more about these fires in addition to sharing the video so I found an article that I am linking to. The Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz mobilized the National Guard to support wildland firefighters fighting these fires. There were some storms with lightning on July 6th with little rain that lead to these wildfires. See this article from Minnesota Public Radio for more information. from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) for more information. Governor Walz declared a state of emergency yesterday.

Friday Fun: CH-53 Helicopters working a 2024 Wildfire in Germany

For this week's Friday Fun I am sharing a video of a couple of CH-53 helicopters working a 2024 wildfire in Germany. The video that I am sharing was posted by HD108oide on YouTube. I enjoy seeing helicopters working a wildfire, and enjoyed this video. I hope that you do as well.

2026 Wildfires: Chelan Valley Wildfire (Washington)

 I saw a video of an airtanker dropping on the Chelan Wildfire that got me interested in finding out more about this Wildfire. According to Inciweb's page on the Chelan Wildfire, accessed on July 8th, the Chelan Wildfire, burning in Washington, was first reported on July 4th. The current estimate (dated July 7th) is that 9,735 acres have burned and it is at 20 percent containment. In the video below you will see two scoopers responding to the wildfire.

Direct link to July 7th video from Aerofilite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook 

NJ Forest Fire Service: 120th Anniversary

I am very greatful for the long service of the NJ Forest Fire Service in keeping us as safe as possible from wildfires. The NJ Forest Fire Service was established on July 4th, 1906.

Direct link to July 4th post on Facebook from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service

About Training for Aircraft Fighting Wildfires

Thanks to Coulson Aviation whom I follow on Facebook and YouTube for sharing an educational video on YouTube about training for aircraft used to fight wildfires. Yes the video is a little long at just under 25 minutes but well worth watching.

Direct link to June 21st video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube 

Cottonwood Fire (Utah/Colorado Border) - June 29th update

Direct link to June 30th video from ABC4Utah on YouTube

I continue to be interested in the wildfire burning along the Colorado/Utah border that some are calling the Cottonwood Fire. I found this link to a report from KSL of a June 29th article that the Cottonwood Fire has burned 94,000 acres on June 29th and is at 4 percent containment, they report that an estimated 150 buildings have been destroyed.  I then looked around and found a video from ABC4Utah that I shared here with some more details about this wildfire.

Three Wildland Firefighters Killed

I know that fighting wildfires is dangerous, and I am always saddened to hear that wildland firefighters have died fighting wildfires. I read over the weekend that three wildland firefighters died fighting the Cottonwood wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border. As I write this, according to ABC4 Utah the Cottonwood Fire has burned around 94,000 acres with little or no containment (a direct link to the video may be found below the embedded video.

 I offer my condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the deceased wildland firefighters. 

Direct link to June 29th video from ABC4 Utah

 

June 29th, 2:40 PM update 

On July 29th Wildfire Today has a post identifying the names of the three wildland firefighters who died on the Cottonwood Fire; Emily Barker, Nick Hutcherson and Sydney Watson. Please read the Wildfire Today article for more information about the deceased wildland firefighters.

Aeroflite Scoopers Working a Wildfire

Two Super Scoopers working a wildfire in the United States, deployed from Pangborn.

2026 Florida Wildfire Season: Southwest Florida (June 22nd)

As some of you know I have an affinity for Florida because I had the privilege of spending some time in Florida several years ago, but more importantly because I have some friends and acquaintance in Florida. This article dated June 22nd from the WGCU weather center got my attention so I am both sharing the link with you as well as summarizing a few wildfires as of June 22nd in Lee County in southwest Florida: 

1. Winding Cypress Way in Collier County, no acreage available; 

2. Two larger wildfires in the Myakka State Forest were at 95 percent containment; 

3. Orange Hammock Ranch, Sarasota County. 100 acres, 90 containment; 

4. Glades County, Platt Trap Fire, 275 acres, 50 percent containment; 

5. Charlotte County, North Fort Myers-Charlotte Fire, 130 acres, 25 percent containment. 

Read the article I linked to do for more information.

About the New Jersey Forest Fire Service

As many of you know I have a lot of respect for the various wildfire agencies, on the ground and in the air, that fight wildfires in the United States and elsewhere. As a resident of New Jersey, I am sure that my followers know that I have a lot of respect and gratitude for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for fighting wildfires in New Jersey and when called upon working wildfires elsewhere in the United States. 

The subject of my blog on wildfires and the role the NJ Forest Fire Service plays in fighting wildfires in New Jersey came up recently in a conversation with a friend that prompted me to make this post today. I share this April 6th video here from NJ Advance Media to let them speak about how the NJ Forest Fire Service works wildfires in New Jersey.

Direct link to April 6th video from NJ.com (aka NJ Advance Media) on YouTube

Juneteenth

I honor Juneteenth, June 19, and the significance of this holiday.

Direct link to video from Ted Ed on Youtube

2026 California Wildfire Season: PG&E Helicopters to support aerial firefighting

Direct link to June 16th KPIX video on YouTube

I was pleased to see the video that I shared above where I learned that Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) will be used during the 2026 wildfire season in the Bay Area in aerial operations to fight wildfires. Helicopters such as PG&E's helicopter fleet are an important addition to support the wildland firefighters on the ground in the Bay Area of California. 

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season

I saw a post from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook the other day reporting on the 2025 Wildfire Season in New Jersey that I am embedding below. To summarize, there were 1,322 wildfires in 2025 in New Jersey that burned 27,229 acres. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service 2025 Wildfire Report may be found here.

 

Friday Fun: New Cal Fire C-130

 Cal Fire has a new C-130 has joined their airtanker aersonal and is or was stationed at Ramona in southern California, see this article from the County News Center for more information. While I always like to see additional airtankers deployed anywhere in the United States and elsewhere, I have family and friends in southern California so I am especially happy to know that Cal Fire's new C-130 is currently deployed at Ramona. See this page for more information about Cal Fire's C-130s.

The video that I embed below shows footage of the new C-130 and other aircraft fighting a wildfire near the Sorrento fire that is now 100 percent contained at 90 acres.

 

Direct link to June 8th video from San Diego Slackers on YouTube

 

More on Fire Towers in New Jersey

I am a fan of fire towers in New Jersey because the spotters in the towers help to spot and report wildfires, sometimes when they are still small. On a section of the Appalachian Trail in Warren County NJ where I used to hike when I had better knees, I would pass the Catfish Fire Tower (go here to see a photo). Knowing the good work that fire tower observers in New Jersey do, I was very pleased to see this report on NJ fire towers from WHYY. 

Direct link to June 5th video from WHYY on Youtube.

2026 Wildfire Season: Aeroflite Tankers on Contract in Washington

 

As we are in to spring and early summer wildfire season, I do try to follow, as I can, where Airtankers are currently based. I saw this post from AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook a week ago. I believe but am not 100 percent certain that at least one of the airtankers they are referring to are Dash 8-400 AT airtankers

I am glad to see that these two AeroFlite airankers were based in Washington week ago, I hope they are still there.

Direct link to May 26th Facebook post from AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook

Friday Fun: A Look Inside a Yukon Airtanker

 In the video that I am sharing below about the Yukon Airtanker, according to CBC News North, the supervisor of the airtanker program mentioned at 35 seconds is not Chris Mullen, it is Chris Boland.

Direct link to May 28th video from CBC News North on YouTube

Florida Air Operations Preparing for Hurricane Season

Having been to Florida once on vacation and having friends and family who spend time in Florida I try to pay attention to the hurricane season in Florida. I know that air operations can play an important role in tracking many storm events, including hurricanes. I saw this video from Vertical Plus on how Florida is preparing their air operations for the upcoming hurricane season and am sharing the video today.

 

Direct link to May 26th video from Vertical Plus on YouTube

Update on 2020 Oregon Wildfires

 In 2020 I made at least three posts about wildfires in Oregon, one on October 20th, a second post on September 9th, and a third post on November 30th. When I saw the May 31st post from Wildfire Today on Facebook that I am embedding below about wildfire mitigation plans from the Bonneville Power Administration on Facebook and went back to review what I wrote in 2020, I wanted to share the post with you, which I am embedding here. I see from the post from Wildfire Today that the Bonneville Power Administration has rewritten their fire mitigation plan. These were devastating fires and I am hopeful that the Bonneville Power Administration will make some progress in mitigating the effects of these wildfires.

2026 Wildfires: Sandy Fire (Ventura County CA) contained

The Sandy Fire is at 100 percent containment as of May 27th at 2,183 acres. I don't always post when a wildfire is contained, however I found a video of ground and aerial operations at the Sandy Fire dated May 22nd that I wanted to share, at that time the fire was at 61 percent containment.

Aircraft Maintenace is Important

Direct link to May 24th post on Facebook by Coulson Aviation

Maintenance of aircraft -- firefighting aircraft, commercial aircraft and general aviation aircraft -- is very important to be sure that aircraft are safe to fly. Operators of aircraft including Coulson follow a maintenance schedule for their aircraft, some maintenance is more routine and other maintenance involves inspecting the whole aircraft. Aircraft parts may be replaced as needed in order to keep the aircraft safe to fly. I applaud the Aviation Maintenance Technicians who maintain aircraft for Coulson and other aircraft operators.

Memorial Day 2026

Direct link to the Armed Forces Medley from the May 24th 2026 concert in Washington DC shared by Rabbo

I remember all veterans who died while in service to the United States whether you served overseas or in a conflict. I remember.

2026 Wildfire Season: Sandy Fire (May 21) Ventura County, California

Direct link to May 21st video from LK Media on YouTube

The Sandy Fire has burned 2141 acres and is 40% contained.

2026 Wildfire Season: Sandy Fire Ventura County CA

Direct link to May 19th video from CBSLA on YouTube

I heard about the Sandy Fire yesterday burning outside of Los Angeles California in Ventura County. As of last night, the fire had burned 1698 acres and is at 5 percent containment. Approximately 43,000 were affected by evacuation orders last night. 

Remembering the Warren Grove Fire: May 15-16 2007

 

Direct link to Video on YouTube shared by NJFFS Section B10 

The 17-18000 acre Warren Grove Fire that burned in Ocean and Burlington Counties on May 15-16 2007 occured before I devoted this blog to wildland firefighting. However, I recall hearing about the Warren Grove Wildfire on the news, online and otherwise. I live about 1.5 hours from the NJ Pinelands where this fire occured, I try to get there every year and am looking forward to going in a month or so. I do remember driving by the area that was devastated by this fire perhaps in the summer of 2007 but definately a year later. I recall looking at the stands of dead trees and at the same time seeing the young pines that were repopulating the devastated area. A couple of years later I could barely tell where this fire occured. So I pause today to remember this fire, thanks to a May 15th Facebook post by the NJFFS Section B10. Only one home was destroyed and four others were damaged. I wrote about the Warren Grove Fire on a May 2017 post to my blog

Helicopter Aids in Rescue off Florida Coast

While I am not an expert, I have been interested in the work done by satellites in orbit around the Earth since I was a kid. When I saw the post below from NOAA Satellites and Information Service I knew that I had to share this with you. I am delighted that all from the crashed airplane were rescued.

Direct link to May 14th Facebook post from NOAA Satellite and Information Service

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Training New Wildland Firefighters

The Central Division of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) recently completed biannual training of new wildland firefighters. This training is recognized by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. This training includes training on the operations, trucks and equipment used by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. If you can not see the Facebook post from the NJFFS that I embedded below, please please go to their May8th Facebook post.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service Cross-Training with the Montana Department of Natural Resources

 

Direct link to March 6th video shared by the New Jersey Forest Service 

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has had a cooperative arrangement with the Montana Department of Natural Resources since 2017. I enjoyed this video about cross-training where the training focused on using helicopters to release ping-pong sized spheres that can be used to ignite lands for prescribed burning. Depending on the configuration of your browser. you may not be able to see the embedded video, if that is the case, please use the direct link.

Friday Fun: Air Tractors crop dusting in Australia

For Friday aviation fun, enjoy this five-minute video by Aggieman1125 depicting crop dusting in Australia with music. I have been fortunate to see crop dusters in action in New Jersey thanks to my friends at Downstown Aero Crop Service who invited me to come and watch them several years ago. For Example see my March 13 2020 post. 

Direct link to the March 2007 video on YouTube by Aggieman1125

New Jersey Forest Fire Service New Type 6 Engine

The NJ Forest Fire Service has a new engine, a type 6 engine with a 1.5 ton 4x4 truck chassis with following features: spare tire cabinet. drip torch holder, 150' booster reel, 135 GPM @ 50 PSI pressure pump, chainsaw cabinet, 12,000 lb winch, custom 250 gallon water tank, custom undercarriage protection, mud terrain tires, emergency lighting package, and a 35 quart recessed cooler. If you are unable to view the NJFFS Facebook post that I embedded below, please go here to view the video.

2026 Wildfire Season: Airtankers at Work

 

Conair at work in the above video assisting wildland firefighters on the ground, if you are unable to see the post that I embedded, go here to see Conair's post on Facebook

Two superscoopers doing good work helping wildland firefighters on the ground in Clay County, Florida, if you are unable to see the post that I embedded go here to see the post by AeroFlite on Facebook.

Fighting Wildfires in the Rockies: Operation Sky Hammer

Direct link to April 30th video from the Forest Service on YouTube

Enjoy this video about the Operation Sky Hammer program in Colorado where two Skycrane helitankers that can carry up to 2,400 gallons of retardant are used to help the wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. 

Wildfire Burning in Everglades National Park (April 28th)

As someone with a special fondness for the Everglades in Florida, I was saddened to read about a wildfire that is currently burning in the Everglades, see this April 28th Facebook Post from Everglades National Park for more information and a couple of photographs.. As I write this post this wildfire has burned approximately 2,500 acres. US Route 41 aka the Tanami Trail remains open at this time but some parking areas and facilities are closed at this time. Note that I have embedded this post from the Everglades National Park below but depending on your browser you may not be able to view it, in that case refer to the link that I have shared

      

New Jersey Forest Fire Service Deployment to Georgia

I was delighted to read an April 25th Facebook post from the New Jersey Fire Service  saying that they deployed nine wildland firefighters, three type 4 engines and a pick-up truck to Georgia a couple of days ago to help with their devastating spring wildfire season. I am very proud of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for taking care of us during the spring wildfire season in New Jersey and the rest of the year.

Obtained on April 27 from https://www.facebook.com/NJForestFireService/posts/pfbid028gZz8a4pRnsiPwTKguEdpZu7qmYSmiE8T7Tidni5xAk4CFdN4kdFKJybtcU2Z1r9l

If you Fly Aircraft Fighting Wildfires can not fly

 Please do not fly your plane or your drone in fire zones anywhere in the US and globally. If you fly the wildland firefighters can not fly.

Obtained on April 24th from from https://www.facebook.com/FLForestService/posts/pfbid02xRGCguBrw9ccEjHWTDCXWEYyEh1HcJCwJaHAGqWNet5UyQ9eFssKhyxLpPp76R6Gl

2026 Wildfire Season in Florida (April 22nd)

Direct link to video on YouTube from the Florida Forest Service

Obtained on April 22 from https://www.weather.gov/jax/

As some of you know, I care about Florida so I try to pay attention to wildfire danger in Florida. Yesterday (April 21st) I saw a Facebook post from the Florida Forest Fire Service about the Railroad Fire. As of April 21st, the Railroad Fire as burned approximately 4,112 acres and was at 50 percent containment. Aerial resources that worked that fire included helicopters with buckets. Super Scooper aircraft and other air tankers. I commend the wildland firefighters on the ground as well as support personnel for their work, supported by aerial resources, in working this fire. 

However, extreme wildfire danger in Florida continues exacerbated by an eighteen month extreme drought that may not let up until rainy season (if does indeed arrive) at the end of June. To hear more about the wildfire danger in Florida please take several minutes to listen to this April 21st press conference  from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services where officials discuss the Railroad Fire. The video is eighteen minutes with a question and answer period that starts about halfway through the video. The video is about eighteen minutes long with a question and answer period beginning about halfway through the video.

The Florida Forest Service has a nice webpage that may be found here with a variety of links where you can learn about wildfires, prescribed fire, recreation, forest conservation and protection and a section for forest landowners.

Thanks to a friend of mine from Florida who sent me a couple of links with April 21st media coverage of wildfires from News4Jax

• Brantley wildfire in southeast Georgia that has burned 5,000 acres and destroyed 47 residences
• Burn ban in Jacksonville FL area
• Wildfires create their own weather

NJ Wildfire History: April 20, 1963 - "Black Saturday"

This morning I noticed the NJ Forest Fire Service post about the largest fire in NJ History that broke out on April 20, 1963 in Burlington and Ocean Counties, burning 183,148 acres. This wildfire lead to the creation of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. I have a book about the NJ Pinelands where this fire burned and I have been there several times so I know of this fire. I remember the six people and one firefighter that lost their lives as well as the homes that were destroyed and residents left homeless.

I am not able to embed this video here, sorry that happens sometimes. Please take a few minutes to watch the video by clicking on the link

NJ 2026 Wildfire Season: Spring Wildfire Season Continues April 17th Update

Spring wildfire season in New Jersey is upon us. Thanks to my friends at the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 website who report that all New Jersey Forest Fire Service Fire Towers https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/fire-towers/ are staffed today and that all three NJFFS Divisions (A, B, and C) have firefighting aircraft at air bases in each division and ready to go to help the firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. I did see that all fire towers were staffed yesterday, April 16th and firefighting aircraft were on site in the three divisions.

If you are interested in daily updates during the spring fire season go to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10.
 

Obtained on April 17th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/fire-towers/

Incident Meteorologists are Important

Direct link to 2018 video from Goeff Liesik on YouTube

One of my interests in focusing on aerial and ground wildland firefighting is the role that Incident Meterologists from the National Weather Service have when they are deployed on wildfire incidents, see my July 2025 article for a longer article on Incident Meterologists (IMETs)a As we enter the spring wildfire season in the United States I am sharing a brief 2018 video from an Incident Meteorologist describing what he does

NJ 2026 Wildfires: West Deptford Twnshp, Gloucester County Contained

As I do almost daily, I go to Facebook to check the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for wildfire activity and prescribed burns. When I went to their Facebook page this past Saturday afternoon I saw a notice about a wildfire in West Deptford Township in Gloucester County NJ, with a notice that they would post a final update early Saturday evening. When I went back to check I saw that the fire in West Deptford Township had burned 160 acres and was at 100% containment. All roads were reopened. I am embedding the final post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on the West Deptford wildfire here, but have summarized the post here and am also sharing a link to the NJFFS Facebook post in case you are unable to see my embedded post.

Don't Fly Drones Near Wildfires

Direct link to August 2025 video on YouTube from Airborne Firefighters

You will hear Chief Krussow, CAL Fire Battalion Chief and Air Tactical Group Supervisor. discuss why flying drones and airplanes near wildfires is dangerous. As you will see in the video, there are temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) over some wildfires but it takes some time to get a TFR over a wildfire so many wildfires don't have TFRs. If you are flying a drone or a general aviation airplane you should heed any TFRs you see as you plan your flights. However, you may see smoke when there is not a TFR and you should keep your drone at least 15 miles from any smoke, the same holds for airplanes. Maintaining a 15 mile distance from wildfires will avoid a mid-air collision that could cost lives in the air and on the on ground.  

While the focus of this video is on CAL FIRE's operations in California, some of what Chief Krussow discusses in the video, such as aerial aircraft flight levels over a fire, the role of air attack, as well as not flying over a wildfire applies across the country and globally. For example, in New Jersey when airtankers are deployed over a wildfire there is a NJ Forest Fire Service helicopter that is flying over the fire with one of their roles being to direct firefighting aircraft over the wildfire.

Many years ago when I was on a flight in a small airplane as a passenger, we saw smoke in the distance as well as signs of fire on the ground. The pilot stayed away and while it was likely that the wildfire we saw had already been reported the pilot reported the fire just to be on the safe side. 

Coulson Aviation's New Aircraft for Lead and AirAttack

I was excited to see Coulson Aviation's April 7th Facebook post announcing that they have purchased five Citation aircraft from Canada for their Lead and Air Attack program. I enjoyed watching Coulson's video where I learned more about Coulson's new Citation aircraft. 

SEAT Training in SE Texas for Upcoming Wildfire Season

 

  Direct link to April 3rd video from KFDM News on YouTube

Annual training for current and new pilots and their aircraft who will engage in wildland firefighting over the coming wildfire season is occurring around the country. The pilots of SEATs (single engine aircraft) that will engage in fighting wildfires in southeast is going on at a small airport in Winnie in southeast Texas. Enjoy the video from KFDM News reporting on SEAT training 

At ARC Aviation in Winnie, crews are training and gearing up single-engine air tankers, known as SEAT aircraft, to respond quickly when flames break out. The pilots are being put through training exercises designed to simulate real fire conditions as the company prepares for what it expects could be a dangerous season. “We're doing pilot of the evaluation and check rides and training. We're getting ready for a pretty intense Fire season coming up due to the high drought levels and high temperature, record temperatures,” said Andrew Mitchell, CEO of ARC Aviation of Texas. 

Obtained on April 6th from https://kfdm.com/news/local/winnie-airport-trains-seat-air-tankers-as-southeast-texas-wildfire-season-ramps-up

Friday Fun: Review of Aerial Firefighting Missions in a Lockheed P2V (2015 to 2017)

Direct link to 2022 video from Bob Web on YouTube

I hope you enjoy this video from Bob Webb (air tanker pilot) of aerial fire bombing missions in 2015 to 2017. I have a special place for Lockheed P2V's as this was one of the first air tankers I learned about when I devoted this blog to aerial firefighting. It is possible that I shared this video earlier but it doesn't hurt to share it again.

NJ Forest Fire Service Update for March 31st: Prescribed Burns and Wildfire Contained

 

 

There were a few wildfires that burned on March 31st in Jackson Township (Burlington County. The fires were contained yesterday and I assume that the portion of I 195 that was still closed at the time the NJ Forest Fire Service posted the above update on their Facebook page is now reopened, at least I saw no signs of a closure when I checked this morning.

 

As you can see from the above Facebook post, the NJ Forest Fire did more prescribed burns in multiple locations in Sussex County NJ yesterday. As I understand it, yesterday (March 31st) was the last day the NJ Forest Fire Service can do prescribed burns

First New Fire Tower in New Jersey in 78 Years

Direct link to March 25th video from the NJ Forest Fire Service on YouTube

 

Direct link to March 25th video from PIX 11 News on YouTube

There s a new fire tower known as the Veterans Fire Tower  in Jackson New Jersey that was dedicated on March 25th. This fire tower replaces a decommissioned fire tower in Lakewood NJ. This is the first new fire tower in New Jersey in 78 years.  I do not go to the New Jersey shore as frequently as I used to but I am fairly certain that I had driven by the old Lakewood fire tower. I had heard that the Lakewood Fire Tower was being decommissioned and am glad to be able to report on the new Veterans Fire Tower. As a New Jersey resident who follows wildfire activity I know that important work that observers in fire towers to detect wildfires and then report them to the NJ Forest Fire Service who will then deploy wildland firefighters to work the wildfire. Many but not all of these wildfires can be contained while they are still small. To read more about the Veterans Fire Tower, the importance of fire towers and prescribed burning operations go to this March 25th press release from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Friday Fun: Dancing Airplanes

Direct link to video posted by Captain Bernoulli in December 2020 on YouTube

I wanted to share a funny airplane video for this week's Friday Fun. I remembered seeing the video that I shared here on YouTube awhile back and it fit the bill. I know that airplanes can not really dance in the way shown in this video, that is not the point. The point is that this video made me smile and giggle. I hope you enjoy this video

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burning March 25

Obtained on March 25th from https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19DAFRnBog/

With the exception of Monday March 23rd when the weather was not conducive for prescribed burns the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has continued with prescribed burns in thirteen of twenty-one counties in New Jersey (Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren Counties). As I understand, weather permitting, prescribed burns will continue through the end of the month.

Obtained on March 25th from http://wildfire.nj.gov

 

1st Female Fire Observer for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service

As some of you know, I have an interest in the role of women in fighting wildfires and as well as providing support services for wildfires. I was especially interested when I came across a Facebook post by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service about Julia Cramer, the first female fire observer for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service in 1921, she was nineteen years of age and served in the Batso Fire Tower in what is now the Wharton State Forest in the New Jersey Pinelands. I applaud Julia for her service and for being one of early women working for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.  

Friday Fun: Women in Aviation at Coulson Aviation

Direct link to February 2026 video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

I think that women are playing an increasing role in fire aviation as demonstrated by the video from Coulson Aviation that they recently shared on Facebook. I am always happy to see videos and images highlighting women's role in fire aviation. I believe that Coulson may have shared this video to honor women in aviation week a few weeks ago.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burning Continues

Obtained on March 18th from https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NJDEP/bulletins/40eddca

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service continues with prescribed burning today, March 18th in Burlington, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties. 

Obtained on March 18th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/prescribed-fire-notifications/

For current information from the NJ Forest Fire Service about wildfires go to https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burns Continue and Brushfires

I understand from a conversation with a knowledgeable friend that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service  has extended the prescribed burn period to April 1st, probably because the two winter storms created wet conditions that were not conducive to prescribed burns. To that end, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted more prescribed burns this past weekend on March 14th and again on March 15th in Burlington, Cape may, Gloucester, and Monmouth Counties. It is raining today so I don't think that any prescribed burns are happening today.

I also understand that there have been some recent brushfires in New Jersey. According to Jersey Coast Emergency News there was a brush fire in East Amwell Township (Hunterdon County) over the weekend, go here for more information. I have no further information on that brush fire. An addition, according to Jersey Coast Emergency News there were also several brush fires over the weekend. Finally, a friend told me about a small brush fire on Saturday, less than 5 acres near Manalapan in Monmouth County, NJ.

Florida: Aerial Prescribed Burns and Single Engine Eagle Helicopter

Direct link to Dec. 2025 video from VerticalPlus on YouTube

I know how important prescribed burning is as a tool to manage wildfire danger. As some of you may know, I consider Florida to be one of my special places so I have an interest in following how they fight wildfires. I enjoyed the video that I am sharing here from VerticalPlus about Florida's prescribed burning program and their use of an Eagle single engine helicopter. The state of Florida uses this Eagle single engine helicopter that has been converted from a twin engine to a single engine helicopter, for aerial prescribed burns because of its efficiency. I learned more about Florida's aerial prescribed burning program.

NJ Forest Fire Service - Prescribed Burns Conducted on March 10th & 11th

I follow the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook as well  as following the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page. Yesterday I noted in both sites that the NJ Forest Fire Service conducted prescribed burns in southern and central New Jersey in the counties of Burlington, Cumberland, Monmouth and Ocean. See this March 10th post on Facebook from the NJ Forest Fire Service for more information. 

Edited to add at 10:25 AM on March  11th: I just found out from the NJ Forest Fire Service Facebook account and the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page (links above) that the NJ Forest Fire Service is doing more prescribed burns today, March 11th in Burlington, Cape May and Ocean Counties. The NJ Forest Fire Service just posted a March 11th update on their Facebook page, go here to see their March 11th post.

Obtained on March 11th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/prescribed-fire-notifications/

Note, the map that I shared here is the current map (March 11th) when I posted this entry. The map may be different if you access the site on a different day.

Transporting a MH-47 Chinook Helicopter

I have to admit that I never gave much thought to how large helicopters such as the MH-47 Chinook are transported when they are not able to fly. Yes, I was being a little dense. Anyway, I was intrigued when I was checking my Facebook feed this morning and saw this post by Coulson Aviation of a MH-47 Chinoom being transported by a large tractor trailer. I do believe but I am not certain that a smaller helicopter might be able to be transported by a large aircraft such as a C130 when they are not able to fly. Anyway, I thought that these pictures from Coulson might be of interest to some of you so I am sharing it today

Direct link to March 4th post by Coulson Aviation on Facebook

Friday Fun: AeroFlite Images from Spring Aerial Firefighting Training

 It is spring and that means that the spring aerial firefighting training for new and current pilots continues. Here are some nice images from shared by AeroFlite Aerial Firefighting on their Facebook account on March 5th with some nice photos by Eric Kiehn

Low Fire Danger in New Jersey (March 4)

 

NJ Forest Fire Service Fire Danger for March 4, 2026 

Knowing that at least in my area of New Jersey that there is still snow on the ground and the ground may be wet in areas where the snow has recently melted I had a feeling that fire danger in New Jersey is low as you can see from the images I posted. What I suspect but don't know for certain is that the snow on the ground coupled with wet areas where snow has melted might mean a delay in prescribed burning in New Jersey. I suspect that as soon as conditions improve for prescribed burning that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will start on prescribed burning and fire danger may increase. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a dashboard for wildfire conditions and restrictions that may be found here (note I could not access the full features on this site from Chrome but can in Firefox and Safari)

NJ Forest Fire Service Deployed to Texas

 I continue to be aware of the severe wildfire season that have impacted Texas, see my February 25th post. Information on the current wildfire situation in Texas (updated daily) may be found here (note that I am unable to view all of this site on Chrome). I am, as always, very grateful when New Jersey Forest Fire Crews are deployed out of State to help fight wildfires. I was happy to note in a February 25th post on X that a NJ Forest Fire Service Crew has been deployed to Texas to help fight wildfires.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service staff have been deployed to Texas to assist with wildfire suppression as the state experiences elevated wildfire activity. pic.twitter.com/yxNJBzFiIn

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) February 26, 2026

Friday fun: Helicopters Fighting Wildfire (Jan 23, 2026) in Western Australia

Direct link to Jan. 23rd video by Outbacktruckie on YouTube

Obtained from Google Earth on January 23rd, 2026

This is the end of summer in Australia which means that bush fire season may still be ongoing. I wanted to find a video of firefighting aircraft involved in fighting bush fires in Australia. What I found was this video of three helicopters refueling while fighting a bush fire on January 23rd near Boddington, Western Australia. What intrigued me about this video by Outbacktruckie was that he identified the three helicopters that are refueling. In addition, I got a somewhat closeup view of these helicopters while they are refueling. In the video you will see two Sikorsky UH60 helicopters (678. 679) and one Bell 214 helicopter (671). I was not able to find any information about the January 23rd bushfire near Boddington Western Australia on the Western Australia EmergencyWA website. 

2026 Wildfire Season: Oklahoma and Texas (February 23rd)

Direct link to February 23rd post from Bridger Aerospace on Facebook

I have been reading bout the wildfires burning in Texas and Oklahoma of late, see for example these articles:

• ABC7 Amarillo on February 22nd
• KBTX on February 23rd

I knew that airtankers and helicopters were responding to help wildland firefighters on the ground to battle these wildfires. Bridger Aerospace is only one of the responders, deploying two of their super scoopers. See the February 25th Situation Report from Oklahoma Dept of Agriculture, Food, and Forestery (note link might be updated daily), and the current wildfire information from the Texas A&M Forest Service (updated daily, I could not get map to display in Chrome but it worked in Firefox and Safari).

Aerial Firefighting: Getting Ready to Fly Fires in Fire Season

As various airtanker and helicopters companies under contract with State or Federal firefighting agencies two important things must happen, The first is that aircraft undergoes maintenance to be sure that each aircraft in the companies fleet meets various safety and  maintenance requirements. All features in the aircraft are looked at including but not limited to engines, pilot controls. the airframe, etc. See this January 30th Facebook post from Dauntless for more information and pictures about their winter maintenance program.

In addition to maintenance, annual winter/spring training of pilots and crews happens, including training for new pilots and refresher training for pilots who have previously flown fires for the company. The specifics of new and refresher training is usually mandated by the agency who contracts for the aircraft, covering the specifics of flying fires, aircraft safety and the like. See this short February 19th video from Aeroflite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook for a short glimpse into this training.

Friday Fun: 10 Tanker Turns Twenty

Direct link to May 2024 video from 12News on YouTube

My memories of 10 Tanker Air Carrier go back to the early days of my blog in 2009 when I was learning about different types of airtankers and what was involved in flying wildfires. I spent many hours over e-mail and on the phone with my friend Tom Janney, a former air tanker pilot in those days. I have distinct memories of watching many videos of a 10 Tanker working wildfires. 10 Tankers do a lot of good work dropping high volumes of retardant on wildfires. Tom Janney has since passed, and I am forever grateful for all that I learned from him as well as other tanker pilots who helped me out in those days. When I first saw this video from 10 Tanker on Facebook I thought immediately of Tom Janney, thank-you Tom. I share the link to this video in your memory. Unfortunately I am not able to embed the video here, the video is a little over two minutes long, please take a couple of minutes to watch this video.

Bushfire Threats in Victoria Australia Easing Up on February 18th

I continue to follow, as best I can, the bushfire situation in Victoria, Australia, a map of the location of current bushfires burning in Victoria may be found here  The bushfire that I am focusing on is the Trawool bushfire noted by the orange triangle, south of Seymore, on the map I linked to. Please note that this map is probably updated daily and depending on when you are reading this post, the information may be different. I took the liberty of taking a screenshot of this map at the time I am posting this article so that you may see the current map. You will note from the map that I linked to that there are other bushfires burning in Victoria. I am not familiar with exactly how bushfires are classified in Australia so I cannot say for certain if the other bushfires currently burning are of a lower threat condition.

According to a Feb 18th article by ABC News (Australia) a bushfire broke out near Trawool in Victoria Tuesday afternoon. The bushfire had burned about 148 hectares (or 366 acres) with 30 homes threatened and evacuations were in place. A February 17th video report from 7News Australia reports on the  Trawool bushfire may be found here, unfortunately I am not able to embed this video. 

As I write this post today, the latest information (see the screenshot that I copied below) I have on this bushfire is that the threat is reduced and officials continue to monitor and work the bushfire which is not yet under control