Pine Island Cranberry Bogs 1 of 2

Pine Island Cranberries has 1,400 acres of cranberry bogs and has been in busy for over 100 years. You have already seen some pictures of the bog when I posted some still photo and video compilations of a Downstown Air Tractor 602 and on October 29 I wrote about one of Downstown's Ag Cats applying dry fertilizer to Pine Island Cranberry Bogs. I want to include some information on Pine Island's Cranberry harvest by linking to some of their blog articles, known as the Pine Island Scoop.

Before I do that, I should say that as I write this we in NJ are waiting for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy and whatever she will bring to the Mid-Atlantic. In early September, Hurricane Issac brushed southern NJ bringing 18 inches of rain to Pine Island Cranberry Bogs. They wrote about the clean-up and repairs in articles on September 7 and September 14.

I thought that you might be interested in reading about about Pine Island's Cranberry harvest in the words of Pine Island's blogger(s):

harvest begins
harvest is about teamwork
water harvesting
gathering

I am writing this article ahead of time for automatic posting on October 31 in case power and/or internet outages keep me from posting. If you are reading this then I am unable to get on the internet and make any revisions to the article to reflect current events. as pertains to Hurricane Sandy.

Next up: Pine Island's packing houses

Monday morning - Sandy is almost upon us

I just set up articles for automatic posting through Friday, Nov. 9 on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

Hurricane Sandy or what is left of her as she soon transition into what is known as extra- or post-tropical will impact a large area of the Mid-Atlantic, New England and into eastern Canada. I hope that every one living in one of those areas is staying safe.

As I write this we have had 4/10th of inch of rain since the rain arrived in my neck of the woods sometime after 7 AM. The latest wind observation was 8 mph sustained with gusts up to 29 mph. Areas in south Jersey have already seen over 3 inches of rain as it started raining there Sunday afternoon with winds gusting in excess of 40 mph. NJ's barrier islands are under a mandatory evacuation order since 4PM yesterday afternoon. The next high tide is due this evening along with our full moon and the arrival of Sandy late tonight.

If any of you are so inclined, I was just checking out the Press of Atlantic City website, they have a page devoted to Sandy with a live camera at Atlantic City along with other stories that may be found on this Press of Atlantic City webpage.

I'll report back when I am able. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy the articles that I have set up for automatic posting through Friday, November 9.

Stay safe everyone!

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Ag Cats in action

direct link to video

Enjoy this short compilation I did of one of Downstown's Ag Cat applying dry fertilizer on the Pine Island Cranberry Bogs near Chatsworth, NJ.

Next up: A little more about Pine Island Cranberry

Sandy coming to mid-atlantic

Obtained from http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ on 10/27/12 @ 11 PM EDT

I suspect that by know most of you know that what is now known as Hurricane Sandy is due to make landfall Monday evening, perhaps as a tropical storm. At the time I write this the National Hurricane Center is call for Sandy to make landfall in southern NJ. But this could change between now and Monday evening.

There is not much more I am going to say about Sandy at the moment. But I do want to say that I am in the process of preparing some articles that I hope will automatically post on this blog for the coming week and perhaps into the first part of the following week in the event that I am without power and internet access for several days. I am continuing the series of articles that I have been writing out of my visit last week to Chatsworth NJ to see my friends at Downstown do some aerial applications of dry fertilizer to some cranberry bogs. I also got a chance to visit a couple of cranberry bogs. I have two articles prepared for automatic posting on 10/29 and 10/31(I hope), and two more that I will do tomorrow for automatic posting on 11/2 and 11/5. What I won't get a chance to do this weekend is to do some of finishing touches on these articles, that will have to come later. Nor will I attempt to do the final two or three articles in this series. Those too will have to come later.

If I am able, I will post here next week to let you know how I made out.

Red Flag and High Wind Warnings for Southern California

Obtained from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/FXC/wxstory.php?wfo=lox on 10/26/12

While I've been spending a great deal of my time of late working on aerial applications in NJ's cranberry bogs and related reading, I have been trying to pay attention to what is going on wildfire wise elsewhere. To that end, I did notice that red flag warnings and high wind warnings due to Santa Anna winds are in effect through Saturday, October 27 in Southern California. Related articles on these warnings may be found on weather dot com and CBS Los Angeles. I found this graphic on the website for the NWS LosAngeles-Oxnard Office a short time before I wrote this article on Friday, Oct. 26.

I will admit to being somewhat preoccupied with my own preparations for Hurricane Sandy due to make landfall this coming Monday somewhere on the east coast between the Mid-Atlantic and New England. That being said, if I'll do my best to keep you informed should any larger wildfires break out in southern California.

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Air Tractor 602 in action

direct link to video on youtube

This is a compilation of stills and video that I shot last week when I was near Chatsworth NJ watching Downstown's aerial application operations. That day they were applied dry fertilizer to 700 acres of Pine Island Cranberry bogs in three hours using two Ag Cats and an Air Tractor 602.

The video starts out with a couple of stills in the loading area of the air strip near Pine Island followed by a video of the AT-602 taking off. You will then see a series of stills as the Air Tractor completes her take-off roll, lift offs, and then we move to the cranberry bog for the rest of the stills.

The pilot of the Air Tractor did a great job that day, and I got some great shots with my camera and telephoto lens.

Aerial Navigation - Precision Navigation using GPS

direct link to youtube video

My friends at Downstown thought that the best way to explain how they navigate when making their aerial application runs would be to show this video. The GPS system that they use is similar to the one that you will in this video.

Enjoy.

Next up on October 26: Downstown Air Tractor 602 in action

Aerial Applications - Getting Ready

The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) video that I am embedding below is just under 5 minutes. While the title of the video is called "Getting Ready To Spray", much of what is described in the video applies to both spraying (liquid aerial applications) as well as dry aerial applications. I saw dry aerial applications last week. Downstown does both liquid and dry aerial applications.

NAAA: Getting Ready to Spray


direct link to video on youtube

Next up: GPS in agricultural aviation

National Agricultural Aviation Association

Last Friday I wrote about the loading of dry fertilizer into Downstown's agricultural aircraft. I want to take a step back and to introduce you to the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) . The NAAA is the voice of the aerial application industry. To read about the NAAA go to the About NAAA webpage, the NAAA has a short description on About Agricultural Aviation, and a set of FAQs.

The short video that I am embedding below is an introduction to Agricultural Aviation from the NAAA. As you will see in this video, aerial wildland firefighting operations fall under Agricultural Aviation (Agricultural aircraft operations in the U.S. including all or most aerial wildland firefighting operations are regulated under Federal Aviation Regulations Chapter 14 part 137).



direct link to video

Upcoming articles:

October 23: Aerial Applications in NJ: Getting Ready for Aerial Applications
October 24: Aerial Applications in NJ: GPS and Ag Aviation
October 26: Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry bogs: Downstown's AT-602 in action

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Loading dry fertilizer

The pictures that I am posting show the steps involved in loading the dry fertilizer into Downstown's Ag Planes. On this day, Oct. 17, 2012, two of Downstown's Ag Cats and one Downstown AT-602 applied dry fertilizer to 700 acres of Pine Island's Cranberry bogs over three hours. Pine Island has approximately 1,400 acres of cranberry bogs near Chatsworth NJ in the NJ Pine Barrens. I'll be writing more about Pine Island in a later post, so stay tuned. Downstown will fertilize the remainder of Pine Island's bogs via aerial application before election day in early November. If things work out, I'll be going down to Chatsworth to see this last aerial application of the season, so stay tuned.

The bags of dry fertilizer are stored in the Dry Area, a building on the Air Strip (Haines Air Strip) that Downstown uses located near the Pine Island cranberry bogs. A forklift takes pallets of fertilizer from the building out to the pad in front of the building. Each bag is lifted by the forklift over the loader bin, where one of the crew opens the bag so the dry fertilizer is dumped into the loader. Finally, the loader is moved into position next to the Ag Plane, in this case the AT-602, where the dry fertilizer is conveyered into the hopper of the Ag Plane.

I did not time the loading operation from start to finish, but I'd say that an Ag Plane is loaded in the matter of a couple of minutes. Bags of dry fertilizer are on the pad ready to go for the next Ag Plane that has to be loaded. The loader is moved back to the pad for its new load of dry fertilizer ready for the next Ag Plane to be loaded.

I need to point out what I am writing about here and in the next few posts involve aerial applications of dry fertilizer. Liquid aerial spraying is very different from the mixing of the materials to the loading to the actual aerial application (aka spraying). Another building on the Air strip known as the "wet area" is used to prepare these liquid materials. Av gas and jet a fuel is also stored in the wet area. I hope to be able to observe liquid aerial applications next year when Downstown applies liquid fungicide to the cranberry bogs.

Bags of fertilizer in dry area

0-0-50 (dry) fertilizer used in this aerial application

Bags of fertilizer on pad waiting to be loaded into loader, forklift on left, loader on right in front of pad

Loader untying bag of fertilizer over bin on loader

Bin on loader filled, waiting to be loaded into AT-602. Building in background is "wet area"used to prepare and load liquids for spraying, note water tanks.  Jet  A Fuel  and Av Gas are stored in the wet area building.

Dry 0-0-50 fertilizer being loaded into AT-602

Dry 0-0-50 fertilizer being loaded into AT-602, Ag Cat on left waiting to be loaded.

AT-602 loaded with 0-0-50 dry fertilizer on take-off roll to apply fertilizer to the cranberry bog

Bye! She'll be back soon for another load

Next up: behind the scenes in aerial applicationsNational Agricultural Aviation Association

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: part 1

I had a wonderful morning with my friends from Downstown Aero Crop Services observing their operations as they applied fertilizer to cranberry bogs in the NJ Pine Barrens Two Ag Cats and one Air Tractor 602 fertlized 700 acres of cranberry bogs in three hours. I will be writing much more about my trip in future posts. For now, I am offering a preview of things to come by posting a few photos of today's operations. These photos are taken at an air strip not from the cranberry bogs.

I have a lot more pictures that I am just beginning to go through. More will come, I promise.

Each bag of fertilizer weighs 1,600 pounds.

This is the fertilizer that Downstown applied today

Fertilizer on dock outside "dry area" The runway of the air strip is in the background

Air Tractor 602 taxiing for take-off for aerial application run

Air Tractor just after lift-off

Ag Cat taxiing for take-off for aerial application run

Ag Cat just after lift off from air strip

Ag Cat applying fertilizer on cranberry bog in the NJ Pine Barrens

Air Tractor 602 applying fertilizer on cranberry bog in the NJ Pine Barrens

Aerial Applications -- Agricultural Aviation: Introduction

Some of you may recall that I wrote several articles last spring about some time I spent with my friends at Downstown Aero Crop Services, all those articles may be found here. I have been reading up on agricultural aviation of late, and am hoping to write more about agricultural aviation within the next week or so. I have some irons in the fire so to speak, and when I am done working with those irons, I'll be ready to write some articles here and include articles on their shops, SEAT operations, and their aerial application operations. I had a chance to fly over some cranberry bogs courtesy of Downstown, and offered some reflections on what I had learned about ag aviation here. I am starting back on this project of learning more about ag aviation picking up where I left off last spring.

My friends at Downstown suggested that I subscribe to AgAir Update, a newsletter devoted to agricultural aviation, and gave me a copy of Ag Air Update which I read from cover to cover. I finally did so last week and have enjoyed their electronic weekly newsletters and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my first issue in snail mail as a subscriber.

So while I've been doing some background reading and research on agricultural aviation, I thought that you might the video that I found courtesy of my new friends at AgAir Update, via their webpage. You will note that the title of the video is crop duster. I understand that the preferred term is aerial applications and not crop dusting. I'm still learning so I can't really say much more than that at the moment. Stay tuned as I take you along on my journey as I continue to learn more about the world of agricultural aviation.

More on SEATs

The other day, I ran across this article from the Argus Observer on SEATs thanks to Mike Archer's Firebomber Publications Blog. You may recall that I wrote about SEATs not to long ago, here.

I have a fondness for SEATs, and am very appreciative of the role they play in aerial wildland firefighting. I wanted to do more than post one link to an article, so I am embedding these videos that I think you might enjoy.


direct link to video on youtube


direct link to video on youtube

Thank-you Air National Guard and Reserve C-130 MAFFS

Direct link to video on dfidshub.net

In a year that may have been the worse year ever for wildfires, see this editorial from the MinnPost, four wings of C-130 equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) were deployed to help aerial wildland firefighting efforts in the U.S. Each wing has a maximum of two C-130s. The four wings are:

North Carolina Air National Guard 145th Airlift Wing
California Air National Guard, 146th Airlift Wing
302nd Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve Command
Wyoming Air National Guard, 153rd Airlift Wing

Tragically, MAFFS 7 of the NC Air National Guard, 145th Airlift Wing went down in early July killing 4 of 6 crew members. According to a Aug 28th Press Release from the U.S. Air Force, MAFFS had dropped 2 million gallons of retardant during the 2012 fire season on Aug. 24, and this was the first year since 2008 that all four MAFFS wings have been activated.

By Sept. 17, per a later U.S. Air Force press release, the U.S. Forest Service had deactivated all C-130 MAFFS. Each of the U.S. Air Force press releases describe the MAFFS program, some of you may want to spend some time reading both articles. In addition, the US Forest Service maintains a webpage on the MAFFS program.

Thank-you to all the pilots, crew, ground support staff, etc. of the four MAFFS wings for all that you did to help fight wildfires this year. 

Those who died when MAFFS 7 went in are flying in favorable tail winds. You will not be forgotten. Prayers continue for your family, friends, colleagues, and all who love you. And prayers continue for the two survivors and their families.

Conair donates Firecat to Canadian Museum of Flight

A direct link to the video, Conair Firecat comes to Langley may be found here.


direct link to video of the Firecat's arrival at Langley Field from the LangleyTimes

As I understand it, Conair Aviation based in Abbotsford British Columbia in Canada recently retired the last of their Firecat Airtankers from aerial firefighting service in Canada. Conair has donated one Firecat to the Canadian Museum of Flight. She arrived at Langley Field home of the Canadian Museum of Flight on October 5, making two fly-bys and one water drop.  See this article from the Langley Times for more info. I think that it is wonderful that a Firecat will be at this museum where she will be loved by many, a testament to her role in British Columbia aviation history. Good show!

I thought that some of you might want to watch this video of Conair Firecats in action, allow just under 5 minutes for the video.


direct link to Conair Firecat in action on youtube.

CV 580 working June 2012 Colorado Wildfire

This is a video from Paul Filmer taken from the nose of one of Conair's CV580's working one of a wildfire in Colorado in June 2012. You will see the take-off, following the bird dog (lead plane) to extend a retardant drop and the landing. Paul has a webpage for the High Park and Springer Fires (CO) including some absolutely stunning galleries of his photographs of aerial operations.

Range Fire (Banning CA)

I first heard about the Range Fire about the Range Fire from a couple of friends of mine so I thought I'd check it out. The Range Fire was broke out early in a remote area of Banning CA on the evening of Saturday, September 29. According to the Range Fire Incident Report from the Riverside County Fire Department the fire was contained at 364 acres on Oct. 1 and fully controlled by Oct. 2; four tankers and at least three helicopters worked this fire.

43 El Grupo - CL 415 Super Scoopers in action

43 Grupo 2012 from Hidros on Vimeo.

This is a great video of CL 415 Super Scoopers from 43 El Grupo in action over Europe. The direct link to the video on vimeo may be found here. Enjoy!

On the fire line: Buffalo Lake Rd. Fire (WA, 2012)

Last September I embedded a video by Steve Konrad showing Footage of ground pounders working a wildfire in OR, go here to see the video. Steve recently contacted me, sharing that he had just completed and posted to youtube, a video showing a crew off wildland firefighters (aka ground pounders) working the Buffalo Lake Rd. Fire in WA not too long ago. Steve's video fits right in with what I wanted to write about today, so I am sharing it here.

As you watch this video, please consider three things. First, that air tankers of various sizes along with helicopters, lead planes, and aerial supervision modules are working to support the crews on the ground.

Second, that these crews from around the U.S. and from Canada. Regarding our friends in Canada, the Northwest Compact -- as explained in this article from  NCWTV crews from the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Sasjatcgewan, Alberta, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories are in agreement with Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Montana provided resources in the form of ground crews, equipment, and aerial resources to help out compact members in times of need. The State of Washington called upon the compact a couple of months ago for help in fighting wildfires burning in Washington. And our friends in Canada responded by sending WA ground crews.

Finally, you will get an idea of the very important and demanding work that wildland fire crews do to bring a fire under control.

Thank-you crews for what you do as you work wildfires. What you do is dangerous and there are things that you do to safe. And you do this to keep us safe.

Wildfires burning in WA: Okanogan-Wenatche National Forest

As I was listening to news reports on the radio over the weekend, I heard at least one report about the wildfires that are currently burning in the Okanogan-Wenatche National Forest in Washington. When I went to the inci web page for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (WA) I saw listings for five wildfires/complexes. Rather then try to complicate matters by summarizing the five incidents, some of which are complexes of a few wildfires, I will list each of the five incidents (with acreage as of 11 AM EDT on Sept. 24, 2012) with links to their individual inciweb page:

• Okanogan Complex (5,931 acres)
• Goat Fire (6,110 acres)
• Table Mountain Fire (35,965 acres)
• Wenatchee Complex (42,508 acres)
• Yakima Complex (2,300 acres)

Here are two reports from local media dated Sept. 23 with updates on the wildfires:

• Seattle Times update on Washington wildfires
• Yakima Herald update on Washington wildfires

I found a couple of videos that you might be interested in. The video below is a short video showing a couple of Washington National Guard Helos that worked the Wenatchee Complex Fires (direct link to youtube video.

Thank-you Wildland Firefighters (Waldo Canyon Fire)

I was just wondering the internet and came upon a video (the first video embedded below)  of a Colorado community thanking the wildland firefighters who fought the Waldo Canyon Fire that burned 18,247 acres in Colorado in June 2012. However, I think that the thanks and tributes expressed here apply to the good work all of you who are wildland firefighters on the ground, in the air, and the various support staff.

Thank-you wildland firefighters and stay safe!






Note: in the second tribute video, you will see a photo of an Aero Union P-3, T-00. At the time I write this, Aero Union's P-3's have not flown fires since the US Forest Service cancelled the P-3 contracts in 2011 and was not flying the Waldo Canyon Fire. However, the photo of T-00 is a tribute to the work that all tankers do on wildfires in support of ground troops!

Wyoming Wildfires

I was away from the internet last week in rural Vermont, but I did hear some reports on public radio about wildfires that were then burning out west. I am reasonably certain that one of the states that were mentioned in these news reports was Wyoming. I don't believe that I have touched on wildfires in Wyoming yet so I am doing so here. I went to Inciweb (see links below for each fire) just now to read about some of the larger (15,000 acres plus) fires that are still burning or were burning last week in Wyoming. The fire size and other information listed in the parentheses come from the latest inciweb report for each fire that I accessed at about 1:30 PM EDT on September 19, 2012.

Sheep Herder Hill Fire (15,556 acres, 100% containment started on Sept. 9, 2012, cause under investigation). Inciweb -- Sheep Herder Hill.

• According to an Inciweb news release on Sept. 16, 37 residences and 23 outbuildings were destroyed.  
• Wildfire Today's latest report on the Sheep Herder Hill Fire may be found here, where he mentions that helicopters and SEATs were assigned to the fire. 
• A report from the Billings Gazette dated Sept 14, 2012 on the Sheep Herder Hill fire may be found here.

Fontenelle Fire (64,220 acres, 96% containment, started on June 24, 2012, cause under investigation). Inciweb -- Fontenelle.

North Buffalo Fire (25,000 acres, Probable human cause on Aug. 24, 2012). Inciweb -- North Buffalo.

Alpine Lake Fire (40,361 acres, Lightning on Aug. 7, 2012). One of the DC-10 tankers and some SEATs made retardant drops on Sept. 15/16. Inciweb -- Alpine Lake.

• Wildfire Today on Alpine Lake Fire including links to videos
• County10 (Sept 17, 2012) reporting on the Alpine Lake Fire.

Scotts Fire Air Attack

I am done with the project that I was involved with last week, and am still catching up with myself. Enjoy the video from Photo One Productions (Copyright 2012 Photo One Productions).  For more information and a list of the tankers you will see in this video go here.

For more information about the Scotts Fire (Lake County CA), which I believe is 100% contained (4,618 acres), see this Final update on the Scotts Fire from CAL FIRE.

NJFFS Prescribed Burn near Old Bridge NJ (Feb 26, 2012)

Here is a short (just under 4 minute) video of NJ Forest Fire Service conducting a prescribed burn in the Runyon Watershed, Old Bridge NJ on Feb, 26, 2012. A direct link to the video may be found here.

S-2T tankers out of Santa Clara CA (2009)

A video from photo1productions dated June 2009 of aerial operations out of Santa Clara CA, a direct link to the video may be found here. Nice audio with footage of S-2-T's making retardant drops. Allow about 8 to 9 minutes to watch the video.

Hemet Ryan AAB - Buck Fire - June 28, 2012

I'll be involved with some projects the next few days, so I'll be sharing some videos with with you. I begin with the this longer video from Nick Mitchell (the Enenomator1) of Air Operations at Hemet Ryan Air Attack Base in Riverside County, CA. The video was shot on June 28, 2012 showing aerial operations at Ryan for the Bucks Fire that burned in Sage CA. A direct link to this video on youtube may be found here where Nick lists the aircraft that flew this fire. I believe that the helicopter that you see in the beginning of the video is a Army National Guard UH-72 Lakota (see the videos info section on the direct link to the video on youtube that I just posted), a command ship in support of MAFFS C-130s that were flying this fire but reloading out of another tanker base. You will also a number of CAL FIRE's S-2T's. Finally, I believe that you will see one of the DC-10 tankers flying at the end of the video. Allow about 15 minutes to watch the video.

SEATs working small fires

I want to take a moment to pause and acknowledge the all important work that aerial firefighters do making drops on fires that are under five acres. You might be a SEAT, a helo with a bucket, a CAL FIRE S-2, or another type of tanker. It might be only be one drop. It doesn't matter. I know you are there. You work in support of the ground troops and together you have kept the fire small before it can grow into something larger.

I know you are there, even if I don't read any reports about your work on small fires. I caught a break today as I was looking for articles about small fires, hopefully where either an airtanker or a helo had worked the fire. I found two articles about small fires in Colorado on the Michael Archer's Firebombers Publications Blog.

He linked to an article from The SummitDaily (9/5/12) in his September 6 post about a SEAT working a fire in the Big Thompson Canyon, estimated at three to five acres.

On September 7, he linked to an article from The Gazette in Colorado Springs (9/6/12) where a SEAT dropped on a small fire in the area of Pike's Peak in Colorado.

Both articles happened to be referring to SEATs making a drop. But you could of just as easily been a helo with a bucket or another type of tanker. I know you are there.

A small wildland fire in a remote corner of Mt. Mansfield (VT)

I have been writing about some of the large wildland fires that have been burning in western areas of the U.S. last week. I turn today to a very small wildland fire that burned approximately two acres of dry mossy land in a steep and remote section of Mt. Mansfield in VT. The key words being remote and steep.

The fire burned near a ledge a short distance from the Taylor Lodge. The Taylor Lodge is off of the Long Trail in Nebraska Notch a couple of miles from Underhill Center, VT.

Here is a direct link (WCAX, Burlington VT) to the video that I have (hopefully) embedded below. The story may be found here

WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


I called up the Green Mountain Club in Vermont for help in marking an approximate location of the Taylor Lodge on Google Earth. Please note, that I make no claims that this is the exact location of Taylor Lodge. However, the image below will give you an idea of where the fire was (not far from Taylor Lodge) and the remoteness of the area. I believe, but am not certain that they used Lake Mansfield as a water source. In the upper left corner of the image, I have marked Stevensville Rd. in Underhill Center for you.

Revised on October 12, 2015 to remove a dead link.

Canadian Airtankers in action

I am pretty sure that I may have posted this video a year ago as a way of thanking our friends in Canada for the loan of their tankers last year. On this labor day, or I should say a day when I am not laboring, I wanted to embed a video for you to watch. This came across so to speak. I love the video and the music.

Montana Wildfires - update

Delphia Fire (MT): fire whirl ( KTVQ Q2 Billings MT)



Pine Creek Fire (MT): photo montage ( KTVQ Q2 Billings MT)

I have been reading about some of the wildfires currently burning in Montana over the last couple of days and have pulled together some information for you. Stay safe everyone!

Some wildfires currently burning in Montana

• Pine Creek Fire - 12,000 acres
• 19 Mile Fire - 4,000 acres, 2% containment
• Delphia Fire - 40,653 acresr, 95% containment
• Millie Fire - 9,500 acres
• West Garceau Fire - 9,863 acres, 85% containment
• Elbow Pass Fire - 20,414 acres, no containment, low growth potential
• Mustang Complex Fires (ID and MT) - 205,481 acres, 15% containment
• InciWeb - Montana Page

Reports on Montana Wildfires

• Montana Governor declares state of emergency (8/30/12) due to wildfire activity
• AP video: wildfires on remote Cheyenne Reservation in Montana
• Missoulian dot com: eyewitness account of pine creek fire
• Missoulian dot com: Mustang Complex Fire (ID) advances into Montana
• KXLF report on 19 Mile Fire
• Wildfiretoday on Montana Wildfires (8/31/12)
• CBS News: Summary of Montana Fires (8/31/12)

Philippine Mars going to a new home

No doubt some of you have already heard that Coulson is retiring the Philippine Mars. From what I understand she had not flown in a few years. She is headed to a good home, the Pensacola Naval Air Museum where she will be loved by many. A story on the Philippine Mars retirement by the Times Colonist by be found here.

As I understand it, the Hawaii Mars will continue to fly for Coulson. At the time of this writing, Coulson has a webpage describing both the Hawaii Mars and the Phillipine Mars, that may be found here.

To the Philippine Mars, I have never met you but I know that you are one elegant lady of the skies, a large and elegant airplane. You have served long and well, first with the US navy and later as a water scooper capable of dropping 7,200 gallons of water/foam on fires. You will be loved and the folk at Pensacola will take good care of you. Perhaps one day I will go back to Pensacola and see you in the museum.

Some Wildfires in CA,ID, OR, and WA

Over the weekend, a couple of my friends have commented to me about various wildfires burning out west. This gave me the idea for today's post. I can not do justice here to all the wildfires currently burning,so I'm not even going to try. But I am going to write about some wildfires burning in CA, OR, ID, and WA. As time goes on, I'll try to report on wildfires in other regions and internationally.

California

Ponderosa Fire (CA) - update. As of Aug. 27, 2 PM EDT, the Ponderosa Fire has burned 27,676 acres and is at 85% containment. Fifty-two residences and 9- outbuildings have been destroyed. Evacuation orders for property owners within the fire's perimeter have been lifted. The latest update from CAL FIRE may be found here. I posted on this fire and the aerial assault on this fire on August 20, Aug. 22, and Aug. 24.

CAL FIRE's fire information page, with a listing of current wildfires, may be found here. Inciweb lists some California wildfires, including those burning on national lands here.

Oregon
I would be remiss not to include Oregon. Earlier this month, on August 5 to be exact lightning ignited what is now known as the Holloway Fire that has burned 461,047 acres in Oregon and Nevada. According to the latest Inciweb report for the Holloway Fire dated on or about Aug. 22, the fire is at 97% containment. 245,505 have burned in Oregon and 215,542 acres have burned in Nevada. Inciweb has a link to a map of the Holloway Fire showing its progression and showing areas burned in Oregon and Nevada.

There are two other wildfires in Oregon that have burned in excess of 50,000 acres: Cache Creek (56,000 acres; 40% containment  and the Barry Point Fire (93,071 acres; 97% containment.

The inciweb page for Oregon may be found here. The Oregon Dept of Forestry has  a Wildfire Blog where they post daily updates during wildfire season as well as other news.

Washington
Inciweb has three wildfires of at list 5,000 acres in Washington listed as active on Aug. 27. These are the Taylor Bridge Fire (23,500 acres; 91% containment; Buffalo Lake Road Fire (11,299 acres; 100% contained) and the Antoine 2 Fire (6,837 acres; 90% containment.

The main page for the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources fire information page may be found here including a link to the WA DNF aviation and helitack program webpage.

The Northwest Geographic Area Coordination Center covers both Washington and Oregon.

Idaho
Trinity Ridge Fire (ID). The Trinity Ridge is one of a few large wildfires currently burning in Idaho. I first reported on the Trinity Ridge Fire, still burning in the Boise National Forest in Idaho on Aug.13. As I write this, the fire has burned 128,200 acres and is at 5% containment.

There is a good short summary of these and other wildfires burning in Idaho on this Smokeshowin thread. You might also want to check out the listing of Idaho Wildfires from InciWeb. More information on wildfires in Idaho can be found at either the the  East Basin Geographic Coordination Center (southern Idaho or the Northern Rockies Geographic Area Coordination Centers.

The Fire Management webpage of the Idaho Dept. of Lands may be found here including a link to a daily fire report (an excel spreadsheet).

Stay safe out there everyone!

Ponderosa Fire update # 2

According to the latest update on the Ponderosa Fire (Aug. 24, 2012 at 8:25 AM), the fire has burned 28, 098 acres and is at 68% containment. Sixty-four residences and 20 outbuildings have been destroyed. Evacuations are still in place. Four people have been injured. The latest update on the fire from CAL FIRE may be found here.



KCRA coverage on Ponderosa Fire, August, 23, 2012



CA National Guard Helo bucket drop from above, Ponderosa Fire, KCRA (Aug. 20, 2012)



CAL FIRE S2-T's drop, Ponderosa Fire, (Aug. 20, 2012)



DC-10 T-910 drop, Ponderosa Fire (Aug 20, 2012)

Ponderosa Fire (CA) - Update

A quick update on the Ponderosa Fire currently burning in northern CA. As of mid-day PDT, the fire has burned 24,323 acres and is at 50% containment. Fifty structures have been destroyed and evacuations remain in place. Here is a report from kcrc news 7. If you have trouble with, or can not see the video that I embedded above, it is from CBS in San Francisco and may be found here.

Ponderosa Fire (CA)

I was reading about the Ponderosa Fire last night on this lengthy initial attack hotlist thread on WildlandFire, and I thought that some of you might be interested in some information about this fire. The Ponderosa fire started on Saturday, Aug. 18. As I write this, the Ponderosa fire, burning in Tehama and Shasta Counties in California, has burned 15,000 acres and is at 5% containment. Seven structures have been destroyed and evacuation orders are in place.

There is a nice synopsis of the aerial resources that were working the Ponderosa Fire over the weekend that I found on this thread on Smokeshowin. I understand that in addition to CAL FIRE S-2T's,  both DC-10 tankers from 10 Tanker Corp. (T-910 and T-911), two MAFFS, and Neptune's Bae-146 T-40 worked the fire at some point over this past weekend. In addition, I think but am not certain, that some helos were working the fire as well. KCRC News Channel 7 has some footage, dated Aug. 19, of the Ponderosa Fire shot from a helicopter. I don't seem able to embed that video, but I hope you take three or four minutes to go to the link and watch the video where you will see a few aircraft working the fire.

Bill Gabbert of WildFire Today writes about the Ponderosa Fire and its proximity to the a wildfire burning in Lassen NP in an article dated Aug. 19, 2012.

A direct link to the video that I tried to embed above (dated Aug. 19) from CBS in San Francisco CA may be found here, an associated story from CBS in San Francisco is found on this webpage. KRCR News Channel 7 has a report on the Ponderosa Fire that you might want to check out.

USFS to resume night drops with one helo in 2013

I'd like to thank a friend of mine who gave me a heads up yesterday that the USFS will be resuming night flights of helicopters to fight fires in southern California in 2013. At first just one helo will be used, stationed in the Angeles National Forest. He sent me a link to a video report on the resumption of these night operations that is no longer available (updated on July 18, 2013)

Press-Enterprise article on USFS resumption of night flights

Wildfire Today on USFS resumption of night flights

Wildfire in Aguanga CA: Air Ops

Last night I heard that one of the DC-10 tankers and a MAFFS were working a wildfire in Southern California. This morning I read about the Bucks Fire that is burning in Aguanga CA near Temecula on this wildland fire hotlist initial attack thread on Buck fire. I found a link from KABC 7 in LA to a story that included two videos showing air operations over the fire, the story may be found here . It was my intention to embed both of these videos, unfortunately I have been having difficulties with the embed code that I am not able to resolve. So I have opted to delete the embed code. Please take about five minutes and go look at both of the videos: Temecula-area brush fire continues to burn | Video | abc7.com (includes footage of DC-10, Grumman S-2T and a MAFFS C-130) and DC-10 air tanker makes two drops on Buck Fire | Video | abc7.com.

You might enjoy this KABC 7 photo gallery You might want to check out the wildland fire initial attack hotlist thread for the Bucks Fire.

I've made a few revisions today (the last on Aug 15, 2012, 3 PM EDT) fine tuning the links to the KABC 7 videos. Thanks for your patience!

Idaho Wildfires Update #1

One of the DC-10 tankers and a MAFFS C-130 did indeed work the Ourada Ranch Fire (419 acres) near Boise, Idaho. See this report from KBOI 2 for more information, along with their photo gallery.

Idaho Wildfires

In my wonderings over the last few days I have been hearing the news about the many wildfires currently burning in Idaho. I am not able to pull together links and other resources for you on all these fires. Nor am I going to even try to list all the fires. I'd like to start by reporting a line of duty death, the Idaho Statesman reports on the death of Anne Veseth, a USFS firefighter who was killed by a tree while working a fire near Lewistown Idaho, she was working the Steep Corner Fire (43 acres) in the Nez Perce-clearwater National Forest.

I thought that it might be useful to find some articles summarizing the current wildfire situation in Idaho. To that end, I found this short report dated Aug 12, 2012 story from KTVB7 on wildfires burning in Idaho along with this short report from KIVI ABC6. You might enjoy: a photo gallery from KBOI2 of a grass fire near Boise and another photo gallery from KTVB 7.

One of the first things that I did in preparing this article was to go to the current listing of Idaho Wildfires on InciWeb (as of about 2 PM EDT on Aug. 13, 2012). For brevity, I am only listing the Idaho wildfires that have burned at least 10,000 acres:

• Halstead Fire Salmon-Challis National Forest. Fire origin on Fri. July 27, 2012 from lightning, 49,322 acres, 3% contained
• Minidoka Complex Sawtooth National Forest. Fire origin on Sun. Aug 5, 2012 from lightning, 92,511 acres, 44% contained. Boise National Forest. 
• Trinity Ridge Fire Boise National Forest. Fire origin on Fri. Aug 3, 2012 probably human caused, 37.044 acres, 5% contained.
• Flat Top 2 Twins Falls District of the Bureau of Land Management. Fire origin on Sun. Aug. 5, 2012 from lightning, 140,000 acres, 60% contained. 

I then went and downloaded the today Incident Management Situation Report from the National Interagency Coordination Center, go here to obtain the current version which will differ from the one that I downloaded today (8/13/12). I like this report because it summarizes national wildfire activity by region. A good place to start. One of the reasons why I like this National Situation Report is that it includes some fires that I can not find on InciWeb. For example, I found about the Faust Fire (wildlandfire hotlist thread that has burned 22,045 acres and is 30% contained from today's National Situation Report. I believe that the Faust Fire is burning on Bureau of Land Management Lands.

More information on wildfires burning in Idaho may be found at the Northern Rockies Coordination Center (Northern Idaho) or the Eastern Great Basin Geographic Coordination Center (southern Idaho). The fire management webpage of the Idaho Dept of Lands may be found here.

As for aerial resources working these fires, Wildfire Today posted some pictures of helos working a wildfire in southern Idaho. I then found that the Idaho Statesman is reporting on NC Air National Guard deployment to Boise Idaho for wildland firefighting, from what I understand the 145th will send two aircraft with 16 airmen to Boise. Finally, as I was working on this article, I found a report from KTVB7 that one of the DC-10 tankers is being dispatched to fight the Ourada Ranch Brush Fire near Boise Idaho, a photo gallery may be found on this page from KTVB in Boise. I'll try to follow-up on both the DC-10 tanker and the 145th deployment.

 I'd like to thank my friend from Boise for pointing me to some of the Boise news outlets.

Smokejumpers in Alaska

I found this cool video just now on youtube looking for videos. It was shot in June 2012 over the course of three hours as Smokejumpers from Alaska and Montana fought Fire 225 in Alaska. For more on the video please go and see the information page.

Martin Mars vandalized

The Times Colonist reported yesterday that the Martin Mars was vandalized on Saturday night. There was damage to the tail fin that I believe has since been repaired. The crew is ok. The outcome could have been a lot worse. Go here to read the Times Colonist article about the vandalism to the Martin Mars. Go here to see coverage on the vandalism of the Martin Mars from wildfiretoday

I love the Martin Mars. Here is a youtube video showing coverage from ABC 7 in LA of the Martin Mars dropping on Mt. Wilson during the 2009 Station Fire. I saw this live, so to speak, as I was watching live feed from LA stations. Don't recall what station I was watching, but it was pretty impressive to see her make a live drop.

Curiosity has landed

The image of Curiosity making her desent to Mars with her parachute was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRise Camera. The video is a compilation of stills taken by Curiosity as she descended to the surface of Mars.

NASA's Rover, Curiosity landed on Mars early about 1:30 AM EDT. Yes, I watched the live feed from NASA TV on the web. For more on Curiosity, go to this NASA webpage on the Curiosity mission.

Remembering Mann Gulch

I was reminded about the Mann Gulch Fire last week when I read this post on Wildfire Today. On Aug. 5, 1949, 13 smokejumpers died fighting the Mann Gulch Fire.

You see, when I got interested in wildland firefighting, I knew that a former professor of mine from grad school, Mark, might be able to help me. I knew that Mark had been interested in forestry as a young man. When I was preparing for an exam, I read a little about forestry (under Mark's direction) for an exam in rural planning.

I had kept in touch with Mark over the years since I finished grad school, so I figured I had nothing to lose by contacting Mark to ask him to suggest books on wildland fire fighting. He did not disappoint. He suggested that I read Norman Maclean's book, Young Men and Fire about the Mann Gulch Fire and the smoke jumpers who died there. I read the book. I'm not quite sure what to say except that I was moved by what I read. And by the end of the book, I knew that I wanted to learn more. I suspect that I would have heard about the Mann Gulch Fire on my own at some point, but I'm glad that I read about this fire early on.

So, I'd like to thank Mark for suggesting the book to me, and for his support of me over the years, including my efforts here on this blog. Thanks Mark!

 I found the video that I embedded here on the Mann Gulch Fire from archives.org, on this page.

Added on June 15, 2016: I don't think that either the link or the embedded video on this article is working. Over the next several days, I'll try to take some time to get new links for you. Please be patient. 

Thank-you air attack base ground crews

Please take a few moments to watch a video from KPAX in Missoula Montana (July 5, 2012) reporting on ground operations at a Montana tanker base during a wildfire last July.

A couple of days ago, one of my friends sent me a link to a very nice article from the Billings Gazette (July 8, 2012) about the tanker base in Billings Montana. At that time, there were two Convair 580s and their bird dogs (aerial supervision planes) from Canada and at least one Lockheed P2V tanker at the Billings Air Attack Base. Before I go on, I hope that you take a few moments and read the July 8 article from the Billings Gazette because you will get an insight into what goes on at a tanker base. Here is another article from the TimesCall in CO, dated June 11 of this year as the High Park Fire was burning in Colorado.

I am reminded that tankers can not fly with out the help of the crews at air attack bases such as the bases at Billings Montana or Broomfield Colorado. Aircraft maintenance, as necessary, is done at the bases during the overnight and perhaps between flights. Aircraft are refueled. When the dispatch order comes in, the pilots perform their preflight checks, and retardant is loaded. All this happens with the help and support of various ground crews and the tanker base manager.

For all of you who are working on the ground at various air attack bases in support of aerial wildland firefighting activities, a big thank-you. I know you are there.

Speaking of Montana, as I write this, I know that there are a few wildfires currently burning in Montana, including but not limited to the Sarpy Hills Complex Fires and the Rosebud Complex Fires. I am not in a position at this time to speak with certainty about aircraft that are currently working the wildfires in Montana, but I suspect that there are tankers and helos at bases in or near Montana ready to fly fires when the calls comes in. And when the call comes in, the ground crews at the tanker bases will work as a team to get the tankers, lead planes, bird dogs for any Convair 580s and helos up and flying within five to ten minutes.

Rapid Attack/Rappel attack aka rapattack

I have a good friend from Canada, a former tanker pilot, who sends me all sorts of wonderful stuff. A few days ago he sent me a link to the July/August 2012 edition of Canadian Skies Magazine. When I went to their website today, the digital edition of the July/August 2012 edition was freely available. One of the articles that my friend pointed me to was on pages 51-2. The article in question is called "Controlled Decsent, it is about British Columbia's help rappel program called rapattack. Since I am not certain how long the link to the July/August 2012 digital edition will be freely available, I am going to summarize some pertinent information about British Columbia's Rapattack program. Edited on May 16, 2016 to note that the digital edition of the July/August 2012 edition of Canadian Skies Magazine is no longer available.

The rapattack program is short for rapid attack and rappel attack. Started in 1977, it was the first program in Canada where wildland firefighters are inserted in remote and inaccessible areas by rappelling down 300 foot ropes from helicopters. In 2012, the helicopter fleet includes one Bell 412SP, one Bell 212HO, and one Bell 212. The helos have a 370 belly tank.

Initial attack rapattack crews work in teams of three. In addition to the pilot, a helicopter operations tech is on the helicopter when the rapattack crew is deployed to a fire. Two 175-pound canvas bags are filled with fire fighting tools including chain saws, pulaskies, shovels, axes, a hose, and a 300-gallon collapsible water tank. And of course, fuel and oil for the equipment. The crew travels with sleeping gear and food for a 24 to 48 hour period.

The two videos that I embedded here show a rapattack helicopter taking off (love the sound of the engines) and a demonstration of rappelling. The two videos that I had previously embedded here are no longer available (May 16, 2016).