Update on wildfires in the eastern U.S.

Honey Prairie Fire (GA/FL)
The Honey Prairie Fire continues in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. According to the latest inciweb information available at the time I write this article (October 14), the fire continues to creep and smolder, advancing on the order of one-quarter of mile since the middle of September. The acreage burned stands at 309,173 acres with 72 people working the fire, and it is 76% contained. The Refuge is open.

• Inciweb on Honey Prairie Fire
• Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Page on the Honey Prairie Fire
• Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on Facebook (public)

Pagami Creek Fire (MN)
The Pagami Creek Fire in the Superior National Forest and near the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area (BWCWA) continues to burn. Areas previously closed in the Superior National Forest and the BWCWA are open. According to the latest report from Inciweb, the fire has burned 92,682 acres and is at 91% containment.

Lateral Fire, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (VA)
In my wonderings on the internet in September, I saw a news report somewhere that a fire in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was continuing to burn even after receiving several inches of rain. Unfortunately, I did not make a note of that news report. But I kept my eyes open, and saw this Washington Post article on the fire, reporting on the fact that it still burns in spite of receiving heavy rains in prior weeks.

According to the latest inciweb report, this fire (known as the Lateral Fire) has burned 6,577 acres and is 90% contained. It is burning on the ground in peat fuels.

TBM Avenger Tanker 13 (Bu# 53200, N9101C, CGLEL)

Last Friday, I wrote that TBM Avenger Tanker #13 arrived in the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula, MT. I continue with a brief history of TBM Avenger #13.

1945: Construction number # 3262
1945-52: US Navy Bureau # 53200
1952-58: Royal Canadian Navy #377
1958-69: Hillcrest Aviation, Lewiston, ID. N9101C. Flew as airtanker, #D6
1969-72: Johnson Flying Service, Missoula, MT. Flew as airtanker #A13
Late 1974: sold to Forest Protection Limited, New Brunswick, CA.
1975-2010: Forest Protection Limited (FPL), A13, 13
1975-93: aerial spray (Budworm, etc)
1993-4, 1996: fire suppression (spare)
1995, 1997-2010: Fire suppression

References for history of TBM Avenger #13
The Warbird Registry's page on TBM Avenger Bureau # 52300 may be found here.

There is a nice website with information archives for TBM Avengers and Forest Protection Limited that may be found here. There is a lot of history here relating to FPL's Avengers as well as TBM's from the U.S. and other Canadian operators used for budworm spraying operations in New Brunswick. You could spend hours on this site. These TBM Avenger/FPL information archives has a nice page devoted to C-GLEL, #13 with her history, names of pilots who flew her, and pictures. Please spend some time on this page to get to know #13.

The video embedded below shows FPL TBM Avenger #24, a sister tanker to #13. Here is a picture of FPL's fleet of air tankers in 2001 , including #13 and #24.:



I have grown to love #13 through spending a couple of hours on the TBM Avenger/FPL information archives. I expect that the folk at FPL and in Fredericton New Brunswick are very sad to her go. I hope that they can take some consolation that many in Missoula, MT are overjoyed to have her at the Museum of Mountain Flying. She is loved by many in Missoula and will be loved by many, many more.

A bit of aerial firefighting history: TBM Avenger air tanker arrives in Missoula

The other day, I read with interest Bill Gabbert's (of Wildfire Today) article on new and old tankers. He wrote about a drop that Neptune Aviation's new jet tanker, T-40 made on a fire in Texas, including a picture. But, it was his reporting on TBM Avenger Air Tanker (T-13) arrival at the Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula Montana on Oct. 10 that caught my eye. Bill referenced two articles from the Missoulian, one on  Oct. 8 and another on Oct. 10, at the same time a friend of mine referred me to the Oct. 10 Missoulian article. The byline on both articles is Kim Briggeman.

Simply, the Museum of Mountain Flying was able to secure funding to purchase TBM Avenger T-13, from Forest Protection Limited. She arrived with great fanfare in Missoula on Oct. 10 after a three day flight from New Brunswick, Canada.

I went and read the articles on the Missoulian website, and I hope you will too. Reading the article, I found out that T-13 was a part of Johnson Flying Service's fleet of tankers, flying as tanker A-13. You can read about this history of Missoulia International Airport operations including the Johnson Flying Service here. Johnson Flying Service was based in Missoula and sold A-13 along with five other Avengers to Forest Protection Limited of New Brunswick, Canada in 1974 where she flew as a fire bomber and spraying insects.

Among the interesting pieces of "trivia" that I learned from the Oct. 10th article was that Johnson's six Avengers did spraying in Maine in 1973. This interested me because I used to spend summer vacations camping on the Maine coast as a youth in the 1960s through 1970 and again a couple of trips to the same camping spot in the late 1970s. I had this idea as a youth that airplanes were used to spray for insects. I have no clue where the Avengers sprayed in 1973, perhaps they sprayed in the northern Maine forests. I have no clue if the Avengers sprayed on the Maine coast (for Mosquitos??). But, where ever they were, I rather enjoy the image of these Avengers spraying in Maine in 1973.  I wasn't in Maine that summer, but that doesn't seem to matter.

What came across to me through reading the reporting of Kim Briggeman in the Missoulian is that "A-13" is loved in Missoula. I feel a sort of bond with "A-13" and the other Johnson TBMs because they flew in Maine at least one summer.

But I also know that "A-13" flew for Forest Protection Limited (FPL) for thirty plus years under registration number C-GLEL, tanker 13. In my article on October 17, I'll write more about her history including her military service and her years with FPL. Stay tuned

New Jersey Forest Fire Service Ops during and after Irene

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) does more than fight wildfires. The aftermath of Hurricane Irene provided but one example of non-fire related emergencies that the NJFFS are involved with. The following list may not include all the assistance provided by the NJFFS in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. And it does not reflect any NJFFS assistance provided in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Lee and other heavy rain events in September.

Assisted in rescuing approximately 30 senior citizens and their pets from mobile homes in Buena Vista.

Deployed 6x6 high wheeled trucks to various Counties around the State at various time after Irene including but not limited to Morris, Passaic, Cape May and Salem Counties. The crew in these trucks assisted with various emergency duties including but not limited to evacuations from flooded residential areas.

Deployed a saw team to Egg Harbor Twsp to assist in tree removal from roads.

Water buffalos (a kind of water tank on wheels) were deployed to West Milford in northern Passaic County.

Bull dozers and backhoes crewed by the NJFFS assisted with road repair in Stokes State Forest (Sussex County).

NJFFFS saw crews along with crews in bull dozers and back hoes repaired roads and removed trees and debris in Alliare State Park and Monmouth Battlefield (Monmouth County)

Saw crews assisted with tree removal in Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park (Hunterdon, Mercer counties).

For more information see this thread on the wildland fire hotlist.

Kudos to the NJFFS! Thank-you.

Tribute to Aero Union

An awesome tribute to Aero Union by the Envenomator1. Please go here and click on more to read what he has to say.

To all my friends at Aero Union, you are not forgotten.

CL-415 (turbo) scooper

I've got a couple of projects in the pipeline for future blog articles. In the meantime, I found this nice video on the Canadian built Bombardier  CL-415 scooper. The CL-415 is purpose built fire bomber. It is an amphibious aircraft that "scoops" water out of a water body for eventual dropping on a fire. Originally built by Canadair , the CL-415 evolved from the CL-215 (also an amphibious aircraft. The original CL-215 had piston engines. Canadair started out by modifying some CL-215 airframes by, among other things, adding turbo props and calling them CL-215T's, Eventually, they built new airframes with turbo prop engines with the designation, CL-415. For more on the CL-415 see:

wikipedia on CL 415
Bombardier super scooper page

Two or three CL-215's had been flying fires in the U.S. during the later portion of the summer and possibly into September. I'm not quite sure if they are still in the U.S. at the moment. According to altadena (CA) online, the CL-415s will be in LA County through Nov. 31, 2011.

According to a Sept. 6, 2011 post on smokeshowin (article no longer available online), the Quebec Government-owned CL-415s (Tankers #240 and #241) are based out of Van Nuys airport and had already worked two fires. This is the eighteenth year that LA County has contracted with Quebec for two CL-415s.

Thank-you Canada!

update on Oct. 7, 2011 9:39 AM EDT: A good friend told me that the video that I embedded yesterday may have been of a model. Further, some of the maneuvers that were done are not maneuvers that occur on normal fire bombing runs. While the vide is fun to watch and nicely done, I wanted to show a CL 415 fire bomber. So, I went to you tube and found the video that I embedded here, honoring the men and women of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources aviation and forest fire management program.

Other wildfire aerial tactical operations

I have found myself thinking a lot about other wildfire aerial tactical operations recently. By these other operations, I am thinking about aerial tactical operations that may also be referred to as aerial supervision operations. In the video that I embedded here you are seeing one such type of aerial supervision, that of a lead plane leading in a tanker on a retardant drop. For the record, I am aware that the job of a lead plane pilot involves a lot more than what you are seeing in this video. I am hoping to write an article or two later this fall or early this winter devoted to lead planes.

There are also air tactical group supervisors (ATGS )who I believe manage the air space and air traffic over a fire.

In an Aerial Supervision Module, a crew of two is in an aircraft over the fire. The air tactical pilot who may also be a lead plane pilot flies the plane. The second person as an ATGS.

The Aerial Supervision Guide (NWCG) goes into a lot of detail about lead planes, ATGS, ASMs, and other air tactical operations.

CAL FIRE uses OV-10A's for their air tactical operations to supervise aircraft on wildfires working with the incident commander on the ground. The OV-10's have a crew of two, the pilot and a supervisor. As I understand it, the crew does not lead the tankers into a drop, but they do tell the CAL FIRE tankers and helps where to make their retardant drops.

The Canadians call their two-person air tactical planes birddogs. Some states use observation aircraft. There is a nice, short description of Conair's (Abbostford, BC) here., along with some nice photos of the Conair's fleet of A-26 tankers now retired from service).

All these operations deserve much more time than I can devote at this time. As I said earlier, I hope to write more about lead planes in a few weeks. At that time, I also hope to write about Aerial Supervision Modules, Birddogs, CAL FIRE's air tactical operations, and other operations that I have not listed here (including helo supervision) Until I do, please remember that there are often aerial tactical operations in place over a wildfire.

I am reminded of a phrase that I have used here before, something that Larry Kraus pilot of Bulter's T-62 told me when we were corresponding about T-62:

"see I told you that the tanker business is complicated"

So I'll add, the business of air tactical operations over wildfires are complicated.

To all who are crew of tactical aircraft working wildfires, I know that you are there. Thank-you.

Fire and fuel breaks in NJ's wildland urban inerface

I recently had the opportunity to learn a little about fire management practices in the wildland urban interface in the pinelands in central and southern NJ through attending a day long Forest Stewardship Firewise Tour. One of the fire management practices that I learned about that day are fire and fuel breaks. I got a handout that morning:  Wildfire: Best management practices for creating and maintaing wildfire fuelbreaks in New Jersey's Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is available on the NJ Forest Fire Service's website at this location (a pdf file). This document starts with some definitions, some that I will include here and then moves on to a discussion of what the individual homeowner living in the WUI can do.

Further, fire and fuel breaks are also built and maintained along natural or constructed "roads" through the WUI. In  February of 2010, I wrote about firebreaks that were planned for Barnegat NJ, go here to see that article. I had a chance to visit one such fire and fuel break in Stafford Township, NJ within the burn area of 15,000 acre 2007 Warren Grove fire. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if this was the firebreak that I wrote about in February 2010, but I don't think that really matters.

I'll start with briefly summarizing some definitions from the document I referred to earlier, Wildfire: Best management practices for creating and maintaing wildfire fuelbreaks in New Jersey's Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) :

Firebreak:  A natural or constructed barrier used to stop or check fires
that occur, or to provide a control line from which to work.

Fuelbreak:  A natural or manmade change in fuel characteristics that
affect fire behavior so that fires burning into them can be more readily
controlled and managed.

Keeping these definitions in mind, I had a chance to visit the Hay Rd. fire and fuel break in Stafford Township, NJ within the burn area of the 2007 Warren Grove fire.

Here are some pictures that I took that day. Hay Rd. itself is the firebreak. The fuel break is on one side of the road. Hay Rd. is a sand road a little to the north west of the Stafford Township Recycling Center, that may be found on this image from wikimapia.

Other relevant links of interest from the NJ Forest Fire Service website:

Wildfire hazard mitigation
Prescribed burning
Fire planning (including links at bottom of page)
Fire hazard regulations
Definitions

EAA Airventure night air show highlights

Reflections on the Sunrise Fire sixteen years later

The summer of 1995 in the NY-NJ-CT metropolitan area was a dry one. By the time August 24th rolled around, I believe that eastern Long Island had not seen any rain in twenty-two days. Vegetation was dry, fire danger was high. This was the day that the Sunrise Fire started in the Long Island Pine Barrens near Westhampton. The fire was fueled by very strong winds during the first eight hours, and by thirty-two hours it had grown to over 5,200 acres jumping the multi-lane Sunrise Highway.

Wind driven flames in the eastern end of Long Island, fifty miles east of one of the largest cities in the U.S.

Wind driven flames in an area that had not seen a fire of size and magnitude in some sixty years, when the area was largely agricultural before it was a bedroom community for New York City and suburban office complexes.

Wind driven flames along the Sunrise Highway, one of the main roads into and out of the south fork of eastern Long Island.

Wind driven flames that partially destroyed the Westhampton station of the Long Island Railroad.

Wind driven flames that threatened dozens and dozens of homes and businesses.

Wind driven flames fought by firefighters who wondered if the winds would ever stop driving the flames.

Wind driven flames that were fought by 174 fire departments from Long Island and New York City along with the Army and Air National Guard. Let’s not forget state, regional, and federal crews and resources that came to help.

No one died fighting these wind driven flames.

Wind driven flames that serve as a reminder to those of us in the northeast and the midatlantic regions of the U.S. that major wildfires can happen in our wildland-urban interface.

The winds died down, the fire was under control on Tuesday, August 29.

Only one residence and six “stump jumpers” were destroyed. Seventeen residences, a lumber yard were partially destroyed. It could have been a whole lot worse.

It wasn’t a whole lot worse.

It wasn’t a whole lot worse because of all the men and women who fought the fire.

Thank-you.

T-40 going to Texas

This just in, the Missoulian is reporting that Neptune's BAe-146 T-40 is, or will be soon, on her way to fly wildfires in Texas. T-40 is jet powered and can carry at least 3,000 gallons of retardant. You will want to read the article, and watch a video shot from iside T-40, on this this Missoulian webpage.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reports on T-40's activation here.

Flying

Thomas and Cherry from Tali Y D on Vimeo.

I am reminded of what flying is really about. Every once in a while I see an Eagle or a Red Tailed Hawk when I am out on a scenic airplane flight. In fact, I had two such experiences this summer. In both cases they were Eagles, one time a pair of Eagles. We humans have to work at flying, To quote a pilot friend of mine, "to the birds it is just flying."

More videos of birds of prey in flight:

Thanks to a good friend who sent me a link to this wonderful video of an owl in flight.

Flight of the Eagle

Honey Prairie Complex Fires still burning

obtained from http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2214/ on September 26, 2011

I was reminded last week during my wonderings on the internet last week that the Honey Prairie Complex Fires that started a lightening strike on April 28 continue to burn. As I write this, it is almost five months later and the fire has burned about 308,780 acres as of September 15, 2011, primarily in the Okefenokee National Wildlfire Refuge. It is 76% contained as I write this. Smoke from these fires have been noticeable recently in the region.

On the web:
Inciweb page on the Honey Prairie Fire
USFWS - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge -- Honey Prairie Complex Fires
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on Facebook (public)

Vermont is open for business

Those of you who may have been following my blog recently regarding the devastating flash flooding to portions of central and southern Vermont may be discouraged from visiting Vermont. To the contrary, many areas previously inaccessible are now accessible, many roads that were closed are now re-opened, and businesses have worked hard to reopen. So, if you have been thinking about taking a trip to Vermont this fall, I hope that follow through and go to Vermont. Some roads are still closed, but you should be able to get around the central and southern areas of the state.

Vermont resources:

google map of Vermont closures and openings from Irene and other flooding
Vermont Transit Irene Response on Twitter
Vermont Transit Irene Response on Facebook
Vermont Agency of Transportation Irene Response webpage
VT Ski Resorts Use Social Media to Stress They'll Open (report from Vermont Public Radio

updated on July 18, 2013: video that I had embedded here is no longer available. :-(

This just in - BAe-146 receives interim approval

This just in from Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today. Bill just wrote that BAe-146 tanker 40 (Neptune Aviation and Tronos) has received interim approval from the Interagency Air Tanker Board, go here to read Bill's article.

Awesome!

Footage of groundpounders in OR

When I first saw this video, I was reminded that tankers and helos fly fires to support the men and women on the ground fighting wildfires.

Minnesota wildfires

While I was in Vermont, I first heard about the Pagami Creek Fire in Minnesota that has burned 93,699 acres. It started last month, from a lightening strike. There were evacuations.

Here is a report from WISN on Sept. 19. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported on the Pagami Creek Fire  on Sept. 21, and Sept. 16, and on Sept. 14.

You will see from Bill's reporting that smoke from this fire had a far reaching impact. In addition, in yesterday's post, he reports on local criticism of the management of the fire.

Airtanker numbers (part 2)

On September 9, a couple of days before I went to Vermont, a friend of mine sent me a link to a statement from US Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell on Aircraft Support for Texas, Other Wildfires Throughout the Country.

If you go and look at the document, you will see a list of the (then?) current fleet of aircraft. My curiosity was aroused by the mention that the fleet included "17 Large Air Tankers which have a capacity of delivering an average of over 2000 gals of water or retardant per trip". I went to the EGBCC Airtanker status page to see how many Airtankers are listed. Note that this site is updated daily. As I write this, I am seeing that the Airtanker status listing for Sept. 20, 2011 includes six Convair 580s. This is three more Convairs than I saw listed on September 9, 2011(trust me, ok?) when the Airtanker status listing for that day reflected only three Convair 580s. As an asid, I went to the Airtanker status page yesterday and saw only three Convairs listed.

Ok, so today (September 20, 2011), there are 17 Large Airtankers (11 P-2s plus six Convair 580s) listed on the EGBCC Airtanker status page, which equals the number referred to in Tidwells statement.

Lets talk about the MAFFS (modular airborne firefighting systems) for a moment. I know that there are a total of eight military C-130s (Air National Guard or Reserve). The MAFFS are called up when all other civilian airtankers are working fires. In Tidwell’s statement (referred to earlier), he mentioned “8  military aircraft specially outfitted to fight fires with an average capacity of 3000 gals.” I am pretty confident that these are the MAFFS, and that of the eight C-130 MAFFS, there may be a smaller number that are currently activated. For example, in todays Airtanker status listing, only four C-130 MAFFs are activated. If memory serves, and again you’ll have to trust me on this, there were six C-130 MAFFS activated a week or so ago. So, at least in regards to the MAFFS, there is some fluidity in the number that may be activated at any one time.

One of the reasons that I am talking about airtanker numbers (again) is because I want to refer you to a very nice article that Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today wrote on September 13, 2011 and updated on September 14. He refers to the same statement by Tidwell that I discussed earlier, offering his analysis and comments. Some of you may have already seen this. Before I provide the link to Bill’s article, please note that he refers to six (and possibly) seven C-130 MAFFS that were on active status last week. If you read his article as well as the comments, you will see a discussion about the number of Convair 580s that were working fires in the U.S. last week. Bill had confirmation from the USFS that there were eight Convairs working fires last week. Why these Convairs are not all reflected in the EGBCC Airtanker Status listings, I can not say. Nor do I know for certain if there are six or eight Convairs (with two not being listed in the EGBCC Airtanker Status) working fires in the U.S. this week. Anyway, you may find Bill’s September 13 article here. I found this article to be very informative so I am sharing it with you.

In parting, a final point is that whether there are 17 or 19 Large Airtankers (civilian: P-2s and Convair 580s), the figure is significantly lower than the 41 or 42 Large Airtankers that were flying prior to 2002 ( see my Aug. 3 article on Airtanker numbers (part 1).

Reflections after Irene and Lee

I admit that my thoughts have been with New Jersey and Vermont in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, I am very mindful that both of these storms impacted many States in the south and east.

You see, as I was reflecting on what has been happening here in NJ with yet more flooding some of it at historic levels, I thought about the residents in other states that are dealing with the aftermath of Irene. So, while I will be focusing here on NJ, I am thinking about all those affected by Irene and Lee.

Power was back on here in NJ anywhere from 1 to 8 days after Irene passed. For the most part, major arteries that saw washouts after Irene or Lee are now open in NJ. There remains some bridge washouts and road closures, but you can get around, perhaps with delays due to detours. Schools are open. One might think that things are returning to normal. But for many residents as well as business owners and their employees, things are anything but normal. Flood waters may have gone down, but the clean-up is only beginning.

My heart goes out to the many residents and business owners in New Jersey affected by flooding, some of whom have seen two or more floods over the last two to six years. Many are weary of the flooding, of having to clean out their flood damaged homes, leaving their water logged belongings on the curb for pickup by their town. They have to start over again, yet again. Some will be wondering where the money will come from. For those who have flood insurance, what will the insurance pay for. Will FEMA be able to help, and if the FEMA help is in the form of a low-interest loan, can they afford the debt? What happens when costs are not covered by flood insurance, or FEMA grants or loans?

Words are inadequate

Then there is the emotional costs. How do you compensate for that. Some residents are hoping that FEMA will provide money to buy their homes so they can move somewhere else. But if there is money available for these buy outs, it often does not come close to covering what they may have put into their homes.

Words are inadequate

If anything, I am stunned by the magnitude of the floods both here in NJ and elsewhere in the east. I am also stunned to know that many were impacted by floods who live in what are (or were) low flood risk areas. What of them? Some may have chosen not to get flood insurance for whatever reason.

Words are inadequate.

Video and related article dated September 8, 2011. 80791. Lincoln Park is on the Rockaway River (a tributary of the Passaic River).

updated on July 18, 2013: video that I had embedded here is no longer available. :-(

A lot going on

I have recently returned from a few days in Vermont and am still playing catch up with news from the world of aerial wildland firefighting and wildland fires in general. I'll resume posting about aerial wildland firefightinf and wildland fires in a couple of days.

I'll continue with periodic updates about what is going post Irene in Vermont. And I haven't forgotten about my own State of NJ, also hard hit by flooding from Irene and Lee.

2011 Vermont flooding: update #2

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Having just returned home yesterday after spending three days in northeastern VT where I spent much time listening to Vermont Public Radio's coverage of the aftermath of the Hurricane Irene. I was especially interested in the progress that they are making with repairing road washouts and bridge damage. As you can see in the video clip that I embedded above from Rachel Maddow's Sept 15 show on MSNBC, progress is being made. Reopening U.S. Rte. 4 from Rutland to Bridgewater (see image below) is huge.

There is still a lot more work that needs to be done. The Vermont Agency of Transportation has devoted their "511.vt.com" page to Hurricane Irene related resources.  Those of you who like to play around with interactive google maps, might like to check out this interactive map of current road closures and openings from Irene. I used the kml file that I downloaded from this interactive map to show you the above image. The road colored purple is only opened to authorized vehicles. The roads in yellow (including one stretch of U.S. Rte. 4) is open with limited access with delays. Limited access with delays is a lot better than no access or authorized (emergency) vehicles only.

A compilation of footage from the 2011 CA fire season shot in HD by Nick Mitchell.

Texas wildfires again (update #4)

A video uploaded to youtube on Sept, 7, 2011.

There are images of charred animal remains that some might find disturbing - approximate times (minutes and seconds) are 4m47s-4m48s, 4m54s-4m55s, and 5:35- 6m00s.

Maine National Guard helping to rebuild VT roads

Thank-you Maine National Guard!

Texas wildfires again (update # 3)

A short video showing a Blackhawk helo doing bucket work on the Bastrop Texas wildfires, uploaded on Sept. 7, 2011. You will want to check out the info on youtube from the videographer (click show more).

Happenings

I have a couple of projects that I have been involved with recently and another one that I'll be doing much of next week. So, I haven't been able to spend quite as much time with this blog as I would like to. Thanks to all of you wonderful people for your patience.

Yes, there continues to be ongoing flooding here in NJ, thanks to heavy rains that we got last night. We are ok. I have also been following the flooding in Vermont, where I have interests. I don't quite have it in me to post about the flooding here, at least at this point. Those of you who are not living through this in your eastern State, have probably seen, heard or read reports from various news outlets.

Texas wildfires again (update #2)

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today continues to do a fine job on reporting on the wildfires currently burning in Texas. Bill posted an article earlier today that may be found here. He reports that Bastrop County Complex has burned 34,068 acres and is 30 percent contained. 1,386 residences have been destroyed. I understand from Bill's article that the remains of two "civilians" have been found.

Bill reported earlier on the TX wildfires on Sept. 7 and I wrote about the Texas wildfires on Sept. 6.

Tanker status resources on the web

I have recently come across what is currently a publicly available tanker status listing, updated daily. As I write this, the tanker status page may be accessed here. I'm not quite sure how long this information will be publicly available and I suspect that once all the tankers are off contract, the page will no longer be updated.

There is a lot of information here, some of which may be more information than you want.  But you should get an idea of where tankers are assigned that day. I thought that some of you might find this information interesting, so I decided to write this article.

This tanker status page does not list SEATs, the Very Large Air Tankers (e.g. the DC-10 tankers), nor does it list helos. The one that I am looking at does list the P-2's, Two MAFFS, three of the Convairs, and three Canadair CL-215s.

Data fields such as the current GACC (Geographic Area Coordination Center), current dispatch, provider unit,  and the incident number are coded, but I believe that the first two places in the alphanumeric coding are the two digit US state abbreviation. The current base (airport) may not be useful to you if you don't what state the base is in. But a search on the internet should help you figure out where the base is located.

I thought about trying to decipher one sample entry for you. However, while I have an idea of what most of the information refers to, I suspect that I will get some of the details wrong, so I won't try. At least not now because I am involved in a project that will take me several days to complete leaving me with limited time to update my blog. I'll see what I can do to follow-up on this in a future blog post.

Finally, speaking of the DC-10 tankers, some of you might be interested in knowing where the DC-10 tankers are located. I recently found out that the 10 Tanker Carrier has a twitter page that I was able to access just now without signing on to twitter. For example I understand from recent updates by 10tanker that at least one of the DC-10 tankers will be flying the wildfires currently burning in Texas, perhaps tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 9).

Texas wildfires, again

Sadly, another round of devastating widfires has hit Texas over the last several days.. By now, many of you may have seen reports on the news., perhaps you have already seen the video from CNN that I have embedded here. At least two people have died, and over 400 homes have been destroyed. Evacuation orders are in place. There are many tankers and helos working the fire. Here are some links:

photo gallery from the sac bee including a P-2 (T-48), a seat, and some helicopters working the fire.

Bill Gabbert from WildfireToday reported on the wildfires yesterday, here.

Inciweb page on the 2011 Texas Wildfires

Guard Ships Supplies To Isolated Communities - Video - WPTZ Plattsburgh

I've been on the hunt looking for videos of National Guard Helos bringing supplies to the towns in Vermont that were cut off from the outside as a result of Irene. As I write this, all of these town have some sort of access over what may be no more than goat paths through the mountains. And most are powered. But earlier in the week before these isolated communities had emergency vehicle access by land, the National Guard airlifted supplies. Here is a link to some footage, you will see Blackhawks and a Chinook.

Guard Ships Supplies To Isolated Communities - Video - WPTZ Plattsburgh

Hill Fire - San Bernardion NF CA

As I write this, I am watching live feed from KCAL in LA of the Hill Fire, the live stream that I am currently watching may be found here. Have been watching this feed with a 15 minute break for dinner for about one hour now.

As I understand it from the report on the KCAL page (see the link in the preceding paragraph), the Hill Fire has burned 800 acres and evacuations have been ordered. In the time that I have been watching I have seen the following aircraft working the fire: T-43 (P-2 from Neptune), one of the DC-10 tankers, 1 or more CAL FIRE S-2Ts (couldn't make out tail numbers), and one 'Crane.

I'd like to thank a friend who sent me a link to audio feed of the San Bernardino County System 1 - Fire Live Audio Feed from Radio Reference. My friend told me that there is a link in the wildland fire hotlist for the Hill Fire.

Get well Vermont

I've owned seasonal property in northeastern Vermont for 30 years, and my family for 70 years before that. I am very saddened knowing what these wonderful people in the Green Mountain State have endured with the recent floods. Yet, I know that the people of the Green Mountain State are pulling together and helping each other out with the help of many from away.

updated on July 18, 2013: video that I had embedded here is no longer available. :-(

Flooding in Vermont

Residents in thirteen Vermont towns are isolated when flood waters from Irene damaged the roads leading to these towns so badly that vehicles can not get in or out.

Vermont Public Radio has been covering these events:

A list of the thirteen towns,
Aug 30 report on efforts to rebuild US Rte 4 into Mendon and Killington VT
text
VT DOT efforts to restore communications to the thirteen towns (8/30/11)

This just in, dated today, from VPR:

One isolated VT town to be reached today, Wed.

Reports on Wilmington, VT another town isolated by Irene
National Guard Moving Supplies into Wilmington
CBS News video from helo over Wilmington VT.

The Burlington Free Press (BFP). Links from the Burlington Free Press may only be freely available for seven days, I'm not sure. For an article with a photo gallery in today's BFP today's efforts to reach these isolated communities in VT go here.

Line of Duty Death: Princeton NJ EMT Michael Kenwood

Michael Kenwood, EMT with the Princeton (NJ) First Aid & Rescue Squad is one of seven who died in NJ during Irene. He died late Sunday night, August 28 from injuries sustained while attempting to reach a car submerged in the water. RIP Michael. The Times of Trenton has an article about Michael's death. My condolences go out to Michael's family, friends, colleagues and all who loved him.

I had embedded the audio feed the announcement of Michael's passing by the Mercer County Communications Center for about 20 hours. For those of you who want to listen to this feed, it may be found here.

At the time of this writing (8/30/11), there are six others who have died in NJ as a result of Irene. And some 30 +/- other deaths attributed to Irene up and down the east coast. I would like to offer my condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of all those whose deaths are attributed to Irene.

Revised 8/31/11 at 10:41 EDT

Flooding in NJ from Irene: Denville

More years ago than I care to admit, I commuted to NYC by bus from Morris County through the town of Denville. I'd expect that this video was shot either yesterday or today.

updated on July 18, 2013: video that I had embedded here showing flooding in Denville NJ during Irene is no longer available. :-(

Conair Convair 580 Tanker (Pt 2) - pre-flight briefing

Sit in on pre-flight briefing departure briefing between Conair pilots Chris Baldwin in the left seat and Jeff Broussseau in the right seat prior to a practice fire bombing run over the Abbotsford International Airport in April 2011.

I don't exactly know if all pre-flight briefings in the tanker biz are this long (8 to 9 minutes). But, I certainly learned a lot about what is making a retardant drop on a fire and I think you will too.

A first look at flooding in NJ from Irene

This video focuses on Manville, a town whose residents are all too familiar with flooding.

And a link to a google map, courtesy of the Star Ledger may be found here, data is from 5:30 Pm on August 28.

Good night Irene

Good night Irene, and good riddance. I never loved you.

But I grew up with Pete Seeger, heard him in concert once with Arlo Guthrie some, oh never mind. It was a long time ago. It somehow feels fitting to embed this video here.

NJ is not the only State impacted by Irene. But at the moment, I can only think about NJ. So bear with me. We will be experiencing major flooding in NJ over the next couple of days. Some 800,000 people without power here, most of them on the shore. My county in northwest New Jersey has about 31,000 people without power as I write this, not bad all things considering.

I waited to post this until the NWS lifted the tropical storm warning for my county. Which they just did. Hardly any rain to speak of after about 7 AM, but the wind started the kick in on the back side of Irene. So, I sat in my house listening to sometimes 35 mph winds gusting.

I'll be looking for some videos tomorrow to show you. I have written about prior floods in NJ, so I'll follow suit for the next couple of posts at least.

Irene: Incident Management Teams and Hurricane Hunter Aircraft

Still here. Outer band of Irene starting to impact very southern NJ as I write this, We are due to see brunt of Irene starting late tonight into tomorrow (Sunday) early afternoon. Two things just came across my electronic desk that I want to share with you.

Many of you may have heard various weather media talk about the hurricane hunting aircraft that fly into (or over?) the hurricanes to make readings. These are two specially equipped P-# Orion aircraft, named Miss Piggy and Kermit. NOAA has a webpage where you can and find out more about Miss Piggy and Kermit, here.

Last but in no means least, I understand from Bill Gabbert's article on wildfiretoday that two national incident management teams have been activated to help us out in the northeast with Irene. One may go to New York, and the other may go to Boston. Grew up in the Boston burbs and experienced Hurricane Donna when I was six. I remember that one cause Donna cancelled my first day of first grade. And I lived in New York City many moons ago. Currently live in NJ. Thank-you to all the crew of these two incident management teams from the bottom of my heart. And the northeast thanks you.

Bill's article on the activation of these incident management teams may be found here.

Irene is coming

By now, many of you know that Hurricane Irene is due to impact much of the east coast of the U.S. in the coming days. I myself will be impacted on Sunday afternoon. I'm not quite sure what will happen. We are prepared and safe, being inland. But power outages and internet disruptions may happen. I have prepared a post for Monday, August 29 that should post automatically.

So, if you don't hear from me reporting on my experiences with Irene on Monday (8/29) or Tuesday (8/30), you will know the reason.

Conair Convair 580/600 airtankers (part 1)

I don't know the specifics, but I do know that the US Forest Service has contracted (or leased) three Convair 580/600 tankers from Conair, a Canadian company. I don't know exactly when the deal was finalized, but it was sometime after the USFS terminated its contract with Aero Union. Conair contracts with the Alaska Division of Forestry for Convair 580 tankers (I think), it may be these tankers that are currently under contract with the USFS. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported on the Convairs here.

I thought I'd provide some specifications for you. I'd like to thank a friend who helped me by providing me with some specifications for the Convair 580's from the American Museum of Aviation see their page on the Convair 580 technical specifications, I am only including some of the specs here, you will want to refer to the link I provided for more information:

Length: 81 feet 6 inches
wing span: 105 feet 4 inches
max take off weight: 58,156 lbs
max landing weight: 52,000 lbs
normal cruising speed: 325 mph or 282 knots
landing speed: 125 mph or 110 knots
engines: 2 Allison 501D13D rated at 3,800 eshp ea.

I think, but am not sure that the engines on the Convair 580's, the Allison's, are the same as on the P-3's and that they are turbo props. Interesting, huh?

When I knew that I wanted to write an article or two about the Convair 580's, I had it in my head that the retardant capacity of these birds is 2,000 gallons in ideal conditions. Higher temps at high elevation airports will require a lower amount of retardant. The same friend that I referred to earlier sent me a link to a power point presentation found on the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Neighborhood Discussion Center on loading the Convair 580's with retardant, go here download the file which will require Power Point or a presentation program that reads Power Point (I use Keynote on my Mac). I should warn you that I had some trouble downloading the file but was successful the second time around. Here is some useful information that you will find  on this power point presentation:

• A full load is 18,000 lbs or 2,000 gallons (assuming that retardant weighs 9 lbs per gallon). The full load may vary depending on the weight of the retardant use.
• The tank system used on the Convair 580's is the RADS II constant flow retardant tank system. This system is computer controlled and computer activated. As I understand it, the crew dials in the requested coverage level, and the two tank doors on the bottom of the tanker open just enough to let out the retardant at the desired coverage level.

Now, somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I suspected that in its hey day, Aero Union may have had something to do with the RADS II retardant tank system. So, I went to the Aero Union Corp. homepage and found a webpage on Aerial Firefighting Systems _ Constant Flow Delivery Systems, and clicked on the link that said "RADS II for the P-3/L-188 (a pdf file on the RADS II tank system) and lo and behold, I find out that Aero Union designed a RADS II retardant tank for the Convair 580. Interesting, huh?

This is about ten minutes of footage shot by Nick Mitchell at the Ken Fire on Monday, August 22 in the San Bernardino National Forest north of Los Angeles CA. As of the evening of August 23, 350 acres had burned with 80% containment. I believe that one residence was destroyed. The latest incident report from inciweb on the Ken Fire may be found here.

In the video you will see some footage of the aerial attack on the fire, including CAL FIRE's S-2T's and a couple of helitankers.

CAL FIRE's airtankers

I have found myself thinking about CAL FIRE recently, in part because I some of my family recently moved to southern California. I told my friends that CAL FIRE is top notch. I told them that they have 23 Grumman S-2T 1,200 gallon airtankers (1 is relief), and 14 OV-10A airtactical aircraft (1 is relief) at 13 bases around the state. In addition,CAL FIRE has 11 UH-1H Super Huey Helicopters (1 is relief). I told them where the closest CAL FIRE tanker base is. It happens to be Ramona and here is Ramona's webcam. Romana has two S-2T tankers (70 and 71). For a clickable map showing the locations of all 13 CAL FIRE tanker bases, go to this webpage of the CAL FIRE Pilot's Association.

I told them a little about initial attack, that the mission of CAL FIRE's tankers is to fly initial attack. According to this CAL FIRE web page on their air program, CAL FIRE's aircraft can reach most fires within 20 minutes. In initial attack, tankers and helos are deployed to a wildfire as soon as possible. The goal being to keep the fire as small as possible (1 to 10 acres) until ground troops can arrive. CAL FIRE is very good at initial attack.

I write more about initial attack here, here and here.

I have to admit that I wondered how and if the termination of Aero Union's contract by the US Forest Service might affect CAL FIRE's aerial firefighting guidelines. It did not take me long to remember that the mission, if you will. of CAL FIRE's tankers and helos is initial attack. Still I wondered . . .

Then, a couple of days ago, I saw references on a couple of websites (wildland fire and smokeinshow refering to a memo from CAL FIRE updating CAL FIRE's aircraft response guidelines, saying in part:

CAL FIRE will dispatch air tankers on initial attack (IA) in accordance with
existing agreements and per the California Mobilization Guide under the closest
forces concept. If a federal incident requires "load and return" of CAL FIRE air
tankers or additional CAL FIRE air tankers are ordered for the incident, the
Federal GACC will order federal air tankers(s) from the other California GACC or
through NICC as appropriate to replace CAL FIRE IA air tankers. CAL FIRE air
tankers should NOT be considered as a replacement for federal aircraft on
extended attack or major Federal incidents in California. ... CAL FIRE reserves the right to deny a request for use of CAL FIRE aircraft based
on CAL FIRE need to maintain effective initial attack capability and support
CAL FIRE extended attack or major incidents.

I was reassured to hear that CAL FIRE's mission of deploying tankers and helos for initial attack is unchanged after the grounding of Aero Union's tankers. You may want to refer to the memo itself for more information, it may downloaded as a pdf file here (also referred to above, so you don't have to download it twice).

The CAL FIRE tankers, including the two at Romona, will continue to fly initial attack. Or stay on call waiting for the initial attack call.

And may God help us if there are one or two major fires at the same time.

Up later in the week (I hope): an article or two with a little more information on Conair's Convair 580 tankers. As I understand it, these tankers are under contract/lease from our Canadian neighbors to the north.

Notes:

For more information about the Federal GACC (Geographic Area Coordination Center), see the GACC website. There are two GACC's for California, northern CA and southern CA.

According to the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) website:

The National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) is the focal point for coordinating the mobilization of resources for wildland fire and other incidents throughout the United States.

Aircraft are a resource.

Update on Idaho wildfires and wildfire in OR

In my wonderings on the internet earlier today, I noted a report on the Tin Pan Peak Fire in SW Oregon, I'm uncertain of the acreage burned at this time, I think it was around 400 acres or so. I saw on this wildlandfire hotlist thread a report from very early this morning that Butler's DC-7 tankers T-62 and T-66 (on contract with Oregon) worked the fire yesterday along with a helo and bucket.

Back to the wildfires in Idaho from earlier this week. At this point, the best update that I could find for you comes from inciweb. Inciweb is reporting here that all Boise BLM fires originating from the lightening storms last weekend are now contained.

I know from my friend that SEATs, a P-2V, some helos and one or two Conair CV 580 airtankers on loan from Canada worked the wildfires in and around Boise earlier this week.

Outdated links removed (8/2/15).

Wildfires in Idaho (part 1)

I know from my wonderings around the internet the past couple of days about wildfires that have been burning in Idaho. A friend of mine sent me links to videos and photos to share with you. I'll try to get more information for you in a later post, probably tomorrow. But I wanted to get this out tonight.

Here is some aerial footage of wildfires burning in Treasure Valley, courtesy of KBOI in Boise, Idaho



Here is a link to a photo gallery from ktvb, including a photo of a SEAT working another wildfire near Weiser, Idaho.

I am having trouble getting blogger to read the embed code in one video, but here is a link to the story and video from KBOI

Finally, a video of another wildfire approaching Mountain Home AFB.

Aero Union P-3's - I miss you

Four days ago (see this article from chicoer.com), I heard that Aero Union laid off their employees. When I first heard that the US Forest Service terminated its contract with Aero Union on July 29th, I was hoping for another outcome, that something could be worked out to get Aero Union's P-3 tankers back in the air. But it seems my hopes, our hopes did not come to pass. Pilots, crew and others at Aero Union have been laid off.

I know enough about the business of aerial wildland firefighting to know that for many of you, who you are is about flying tankers or fixing tankers or performing other ground support operations. And of course, you are now without a job in an already tough economic climate.

You did great work flying fires. While I have never seen you in person, so to speak, I have watched you fly fires on live stream at fires such as the Station Fire in 2009. It was awesome to watch you lay down a line of retardant on a fire, knowing that you might be able to come around again and drop the rest of your retardant before going back to base to reload. Knowing how much you were helping the crews on the ground fight the fire.

You will be missed.

In my own way, I am writing this for all affected by the lay offs at Aero Union, to let you know that I care. And it stinks.

I am not embarrassed to say that I have shed a few tears for you.

Lightening strikes and wildfires in NV (WGBCC)

A couple of weeks ago I came across a link for news and notes from the Western Great Basin Coordination Center (WGBCC). Some of you know or will recall that under the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) are eleven Geographic Coordination Centers, each with their own webpage.

Apparently the WGBCC has been using social media (twitter) for their news and notes along with a more traditional link that may be found here. I t was through the WGBCC news and notes, sent to me by a friend, that I first found out that the US Forest Service had terminated its contract with Aero Union. Anyway, over the last two weeks I have been to the WGBCC news and notes page to find out what is going on in that region (includes all or most of Nevada).

I noted an entry earlier today (August 15):

Significant lightning received in central and northeast Nevada last night. Elko reporting 8 new fires, the largest is 700 acres. (obtained from news and notes from the Western Great Basin Coordination Center, on Aug. 15, 2011).

I believe that Elko is a dispatch center in NV, see this document of unit identifiers in the WGBCC for more information.

Being curious about these fires and wondering what aerial firefighting resources might be assigned to these fires, I went to the hotlist forums for the western basin on wildland fire, here finding two threads about recent wildfires in the west basin. One is the Stockade Fire, and a thread devoted to that fire may be found here.. It had burned almost 400 acres earlier today. Aerial resources working the fire yesterday included a couple of P-2 tankers (T-11 and T-12). I don't know if either P-2 is working the fire today.

A second thread about a fire, the Salmon Fire, may be found here. The Salmon Fire came in at 700 acres earlier today. There are some aerial resources that were assigned to the fire, including what I think (but am not sure) are SEATs along with some helos.

About the Eagle Fire

This is some footage, about eight minutes worth, of aerial operations at the Eagle Fire that burned in San Diego County CA in July 2011. Among other reasons, I was interested in this particular fire because I have some family that recently moved to southern CA, so I have been paying closer attention to fires in southern CA. Also, the fire was large enough that I heard of it while I had limited e-mail and internet access in late July. So, I was curious about finding out a little more about the fire.

The fire, attributed to arson, eventually burned about 14,100 acres before being brought under control on July 30. For a summary of information about this fire, see this CAL FIRE page. I understand that one of the DC-10 tankers was activated for this fire.

The fire was still burning when the P-3's were grounded on July 29th. I am not certain if if any of Aero Union's P-3's were working the fire along with the S-2T's from CAL FIRE.

A thread on the wildland fire hotlist forums may be found here. Bill Gabbert of wildfire today has posted pictures of the Eagle fire, in three parts (so far), part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Sikorsky S-76B Helo take-off and rotor wash

I shot this video at a local summer solstice festival about six weeks ago. This is the first time that I have been this close to a large helo taking off.  The helo is a Sikorsky S-76B used by the NJ State Police for emergency medical operations. For more information about NJ's air medical services, go here.

I was especially interested in experiencing first hand the effects of rotor wash as the helo lifted off. You will see the effect for yourself at the appropriate point in the video as the camera shook a little when I experienced the effects of the initial rotor wash. As I understand it, rotor wash are winds created by the rotors of the helicopter. The "winds" from rotor wash are not dependent on altitude. Those of us on the ground, as I was when I shot the video can feel the winds from rotor wash as a helo flys low to the ground as it does during take-off.

I can't find a good short explanation about rotor wash to link to at the moment. I'll keep looking and if I find something, I'll follow-up with a link.

Here are some photos I took of the S-76B just before she took off.

revised on Aug. 12 2011, 3:25 PM and Aug. 20, 7:58 PM

B-17 and B-25 over AZ

H5 - WWII Bombers over Arizona Landscape from H5 Productions on Vimeo.

Here is a nice video showing a restored B-17 and B-25 in action over Arizona. I thought that this would be a nice way to wrap up the series of the B-17's service as a tanker. For more on the video, see this vimeo page. If I am not mistaken, both aircraft in this video are owned by the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. If that is the case, then the B-17 that you are seeing is Sentimental Journey formerly seeing service as a fire bomber for Aero Union.

This is one of my favorite videos. Enjoy.

Added on February 1, 2017. I had to make a couple of changes to get the embed code to the video to work, it should now work in your browser. If it does not, just click on H5 - WWII Bombers over Arizona Landscape to go to the vimeo page where you can watch the video

Letter to B-17 air tankers

Letter to B-17 air tankers:

I wish that I could go back in time to see the first  time you flew as a tanker back in 1960, probably somewhere in or near California. I don't know what fire you flew on, but it doesn't really matter. More of your kin came into service, so by the mid 1960s there were many of you flying fires, carrying 1,800 gallons of retardant. 

The 1960s were still the early days in the air tanker business. There were many tanker crashes and some of your kin were lost, but those of you who survived continued to fly fires. 

You were built for stability so you were difficult to turn. Tanker flying always requires thinking ahead and knowing an escape route. Your pilots had to plan way ahead, but you kept flying fires.

You were not the fastest tanker in the fleet but in some cases you carried more retardant than the faster tankers. You got to the fire, made your drop, and got back to the base to get another retardant load, because you wanted to fly fires.

You flew a long time, for something like 25 years. That is a long time in the tanker business. Some of you are restored as warbirds, in WW II configurations. You continue to be loved and a part of our culture.

Today, you stand as testament to your designers, builders and the brave people who crewed you.  You are a much decorated veteran of two wars, one foreign and one domestic. Your service to the fire fighting community will not be forgotten.

More to come on B-17 service as an airtanker

I had the best intentions of writing the next article in my series on the B-17's service as an airtanker for posting today. I am hoping to post this next article either the end of this week or early next week. Thanks to all you wonderful people for your patience.

Tanker numbers (part 1)

Yesterday I was talking with a good friend about the recent termination of Aero Union's contract by the USFS, that there were now only 11 heavy air tankers (note 1) available. I went on to say that there were about three to four times the number of heavy tankers ten years ago then there are today. He needed some better numbers than I could provide for a project, so I asked my aviation historian friend, Tom Janney for some help. The following sentences come from my conversations with Tom. The idea being is to provide some relatively decent numbers representing the decline in the number of heavy tankers from 2001 to present. The numbers are good enough to get the point across that my friend is interested in, that the number of heavy tankers have decreased since over the last ten years and the loss of Aero Union's tankers only makes matters worse. I thought that my friend's question and Tom's response are interesting and pertinent to the recent termination of Aero Union's contract.

Prior to 2002, there were 44 airworthy heavy air tankers (note 2). At of the start of the 2011 fire season, there were 19 heavy air tankers available for use. As of August 2, 2011, there were only 11 heavy tankers (all Lockheed P-2V's) available.

Eleven is not enough.

This is the first of two or three articles on the numbers of federally contracted air tankers. I'll post the second article, focusing a little more on the aftermath of the 2002 tanker crashes as time allows, probably sometime next month.

Notes

1. For purposes of this article, when I use the phrase heavy air tankers, I am referring to air tankers with retardant tank capacity from 1,200 to 3,000 gallons. Where the capacity is under ideal conditions.

2. Simply, 44 airworthy heavy air tankers means that there were 44 heavy air tankers that the industry could have fielded as tankers prior to 2002. The number of heavy air tankers on federal contract would have bee a little less, perhaps 41 or 42.

As I understand it, tanker contractors contract for a certain number of tankers. So, if a tanker has to pulled off duty and out of service for longer than three days, then the contractor will be in violation of their contract. To avoid this circumstance, most if not all contractors will keep a "spare" tanker around that can be put on contract to replace a tanker that is out of service thus the contractor is in compliance with contract by supplying the contracted number of aircraft. This "spare tanker" will be an "airworthy" tanker.

edited 6:15 and 7:50 PM EDT on Aug. 3 and 2:52 PM on Aug. 4

B-17G - Memphis Belle (1999 Movie), David Tallichet - Military Aircraft Restoration Corp. Bureau # 44-83546-A

The third (of three) B-17s use as air tankers that I am writing about is a B-17, N3703G, that iwas owned by the Military Aircraft Restoration Corp in August 2011 when I first posted this article. I don't know if the name Military Aircraft Restoration Corp. is recognizable to many of you. I was interested in this particular B-17 because I knew that she was purchased by David Tallichet. Tallichet died in 2007, here is a short obituary from the LA Times (11/11/07) .

Now I knew that this particular B-17 that David Tallichet through the Military Aircraft Restoration Corp. purchased and later restored was used in the 1990 movie, Memphis Belle, see this piece of imdb Memphis Belle movie trivia. Actually, according to another piece of Memphis Belle movie trivia from imdb, she was one of two B-17s that played the Memphis Belle. But I digress.

The MARC was a nice website for the "The Movie" Memphis Belle with a short article about the history of this Fortress aircraft including her service as an air tanker, what they refer to as a water bomber. You will see  that the MARC B-17 was indeed flown as an airtanker, first by Fast Way Air as T-78 who first flew her as an air tanker in 1960; and later by TBM. She flew as an air tanker until she was purchased by MARC sometime in 1982.

As I revise this article on December 29, 2021 the restoration of the Memphis Belle was completed in 2018 and is on exhibit at The Museum of the US Air Force with good entry page for the Memphis Belle on their website which I just accessed here (with links where you can go for more information). She is going on