Pine Island Cranberry Bog (NJ) in the winter

Some of you know that I spent a day last October with my friends from Downstown Aero in Chatsworth NJ watching them load their AgCats and the AT-602 for aerial applications on some near by cranberry bogs. I watched them make a couple of aerial application runs and then visited two bogs, Pine Island Cranberry and Lee Brothers. 

Oct 26 - aerial applications on cranberry bogs - AgCats

Oct. 29 - aerial applications on cranberry bogs - AgCat

Oct. 31 - Pine Island Cranberry 1 of 2

Nov 2 - Pine Island Cranberry 2 of 2

I had hoped to be able to get back to the Chatsworth in late October to watch Downstown make their final aerial applications of the season on the bogs. Unfortunately, my power outage couplesd with a gasoline shortage as a result of SS Sandy conspired against this. I found myself thinking about the cranberry bogs recently. Fortunately, Pine Island Cranberry maintains a wonderful blog called the Pine Island Scoop. I had been wondering what they do after the harvest is over in November, their blog provided an answer. Most blog entries are accompanied by pictures so you really do get an up close and personal point of view in reading their blog.

Three of the many things that Pine Island does in the winter jumped out at me. First comes fall planting using rooted cuttings for the first time. During the winter "dormancy period", the cranberry buds mature. A severe winter can hurt and even kill the cranberry vines. In order to protect their cranberry crop, growers flood the bogs during the winters. The Pine Island blogger writes about the winter flooding of the bogs. After the bogs are flooded for the winter, one-fifth of the bogs are sanded. Sanding is important for cranberry yield and growth. Of course, winter is a good time for facilities maintenance.

I will visit the Pine Island Scoop from time to time and I hope that you do as well. I don't know when I'll get to go and see Downstown do aerial applications in the bogs again. Perhaps sometime in the upcoming season.  When I do, I'll write about here.

RIP Allan MacNutt

Dear Allan,

A good friend of yours sent me a copy of your book, Altimeter Rising, a while back. I read it over the summer. When I told your friend how much I loved your book, wondering how I might contact you, he gave me your contact info. My plan was to look over your book again and then write you. Summer turned to fall and fall turned to winter. Two days ago, I got an e-mail from our mutual friend saying that you had passed away. 

I lost my chance to write and tell you how much I loved your book. So, I write now. You do not know that I am do not have a pilot's certificate, and it is unlikely that I will get one. Yet, I love aviation and I love flying. I go on scenic airplane rides as I can so I can experience flight. Over the last three years I have learned that there are other ways that I can fly. One of the ways that I fly is through reading the words of pilots such as yourself.

But your book was special. It was as if I was in the plane with you through out your 50 year career in the air. Almost as if I was flying the plane too. For indeed through your words, I was flying. 

A couple things stand out to me from your book without having to go in and reread the book. One is the picture of your wife, Irene and your Aeronca Champ in 1947, with the caption "writers only two assets in 1947." I loved the stories from the early period of your marriage which you called the flying school era. 

Fast forward to when you were flying P-38's and Mosquitoes doing aerial photographic surveys. Having seen a few photos from similar aerial surveys over the past few years, I can say that I had no idea at that time how precise that type of flying is.

Finally, you flew firebombers for twenty years, is that right? You can be sure that I'll be re-reading what you wrote about your experience flying tankers. 

I am skipping over much of your career in this short letter. As I write this, I understand that Altimeter Rising is available on Amazon and elsewhere. I hope that others will read your book and enjoy it as I have. I have a couple of projects that I have on the burner at the moment that will eventually end up on this blog. Writing about Ag-Cats and the A-26 (which you flew as a firebomber) are but two projects. I'll be adding a third project, rereading your book.

In closing, you given me the gift of flying through your words. Thank-you. It is my loss that I never got to say this to you before now. I hope that doesn't matter. I know you are flying in favorable tail winds. And be assured of my thoughts and prayers for your family, friends, colleagues, and all those who love you.

Air Tankers in Santa Barbara (1987)

I got involved with doing some background reading on ice formation in rivers so that I can be in a better position to make informed ice observations for my local NWS office. Interesting that in spite of temperatures over freezing for over 48 hours, there is still some ice on my river. I am learning that there are different types of ice, which is what I have been reading about.

But I digress, I thought that this would be a good time to share this video with you that I found shot by Brian Lockett in 1987 at Santa Barbara. You will see the following historic tankers:  Douglas C-54 Skymasters, Lockheed P2V Neptunes (I think one is from Aero Union), Consolidated P4Y-2 Privateer, and a Fairchild C-123 Provider.

direct link to video

Memories of the NJ Shore

I was not intending to write an article on life after Super Storm in NJ, and the ongoing recovery. But I went to the online edition of the Star Ledger on NJ.com this morning and found a video -- a mini-documentary called Splinters and Sand: Rebuilding our memories. Rebuilding the New Jersey Shore by Brian Donahue -- that I want to share with you. Among other things, Brian shares how SS Sandy impacted some of his favorite places on the Jersey Shore. After you watch the video, read on and I'll share how SS Sandy impacted one of my favorite places on the Jersey Shore.

The embed code that I had originally posted for Splinters and Sand is no longer available, but you may you use the direct link to Splinters and Sand, a Special Star Ledger Report by Brian Donohue  on NJ dot com to watch the video (updated on July 18, 2013).

Brain talks about his memories in this video. One of my favorite places is the area around Tuckerton NJ and the the Mystic Islands just north of Atlantic City, NJ. Tuckerton was hit badly by SS Sandy Tuckerton and the adjacent Mystic Islands are quiet communities without the notoriety of areas such as the Seaside Heights (whose destroyed piers many of you have seen on the national media). I saw an article recently from NJ dot com on Tuckerton's damage from SS Sandy, go here to see the article. 

I drove through Tuckerton, and the Mystic Islands earlier this month. It seemed disrespectful to take pictures. I saw boarded up houses with varying degrees of damage, and a few severely damaged marinas. I knew from spending some time at the Mystic Islands during summers in years past how important the boating industry is to the Tuckerton and Mystic Island area. Many damaged boats had no doubt been removed, but the damage to the piers and docks was clear. I saw a news report a day or so after I went to the Mystic Islands (sorry I can no longer find the article), discussing the financial hardships faced by many marina owners. 

New Jersey's maritime industry has been hit hard, see this article from the Sunday Star Ledger (1/27/13), and here's an article about the problems from  USA Today about problems facing NJ's fishing industry post SS Sandy.

Here is a short video from the Press of Atlantic City about the plight of marina owners in southern Ocean County NJ post SS Sandy (Tuckerton and the Mystic Islands are in southern Ocean County NJ). I hope they can get the help they need so that they come back.

direct link to video

On a lighter note -- cat up a pole

I got wind of this story of a Colorado fire department rescuing a cat who had been perched atop a utility pole for three days from Mike Archer's Firebombers Publications Blog for Jan. 24, 3013. The story of this feline was aired by Fox31, KDVR, in Denver, the report with some photos and the video may be found here.

Reflections on Firecats

We have never met, that doesn't really matter. I have one of your patches on a denim jacket I wear in the warmer weather and I have gotten many compliments on your patch. I also have a Conair Firecat medallion that I carry on my key chain. Both were gifts from a friend who used to be one of your pilots. So in some way, you are always with me.

I have known a couple of pilots who have flown you while you were in service with Conair in British Columbia. So, I know you through them. You and your cousins have flown fires around Canada, in Europe and in the United States (CAL FIRE).

You loved flying fires. Some of you and your kin bought the farm, but those of you who survived continued to fly fires, doing what you do best. 

Those of you who flew for Conair are now retired from firefighting service with Conair. Your service will not be forgotten. Not by those who flew you,  served as your ground crew and  your bird dog pilots; not by all those in and around the communities where you flew fires, and not by me.

May you always fly in favorable tail winds.

DeHavilland Grumman CP-121 Tracker

I finish up what turned out to be a series of four articles on Conair's Firecats and their military history with this short piece about their military use in Canada and some pictures. Grumman first began building the Trackers in 1950 under a contract with the United States Navy. The Canadian version of Grumman's Tracker was built by DeHavilland first entering service in the Canadian Armed Forces in the mid 1950s for use in anti-submarine warfare. Known as the De Havilland Grumman CP-121 Tracker, these aircraft were in service in the Canadian Armed Forces through 1989.

A short history of the CP-121 Tracker may be found on this page from Canadian Wings. The Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum has a CP-121 Tracker, with a webpage devoted to their CP-121 Tracker and more history of the aircraft's use by the Canadian Military. 

Finally, I found some photographs of the CP-121 Tracker. I have yet to find any historic videos showing the CP-121 Tracker, if and when I do, I'll do a follow-up post. Here are the links to some photographs:

• Royal Canadian Air Force, pictures and a little more history
• Two pictures from Jetphotos dot net
• A photo on Airliners dot net

Prior articles in this series

• Monday, Jan 14, 2013 -- Conair Firecats in action
• Wednesday, Jan 16, 2013 -- Conair Firecat T564 to Museum
• Friday, Jan 18, 2013 -- Grumman Tracker

Grumman Tracker

Writing about the Conair's Firecats recently got me thinking about their military use. If I'm not mistaken, prior to their service as Firecats for Conair, these airplanes, known as DeHavilland Grumman S-2 Trackers, flew with the Canadian Military doing anti-submarine work. I believe that Grumman had an arrangement with DeHavilland to make the S-2 Tracker for the Canadian military.

I wanted to try to find some videos that I could embed for you showing a DeHavilland Grumman S-2 Tracker in her military configuration in active military service. I was not successful.

I did however, find a couple of videos of their cousins, the  Grumman S-2 Tracker while in service for the U.S. Navy. I believe that some of the Grumman S-2 Trackers were later rebuilt for use by CAL FIRE as tankers, see this CAL FIRE aviation program webpage for more information. 

direct link to video

direct link to video

direct link to slideshow video

Conair Firecat T-564 to Canadian Museum of Flight

direct link to video

I'd like to thank a good friend who sent me a link to this video of the final flight of Firecat T-564 from Abbostford Tanker Base at Kamloops BC to the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, BC. The video is a little over 17 minutes. 

As I understand it, the first of Conair's Firecats saw service as a tanker flying fires in 1978. Conair retired the last two Firecats in August 2012. Shortly thereafter, T-564 flew to her new nome at the Canadian Museum of Flight,

I know that T-564 will be loved by many at her new home. Perhaps one day I'll visit British Columbia and get to meet her in person. 

Kamloops Daily News bids farewell to Firecats

Langley Times on the arrival of T-564 with video 

In celebration of their 100th anniversary, Gord Bell (spent 35 years with the BC Forest Service, 25 years in aviation programs) wrote a 3 part History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service, Links to this three part series may be found here. You can read more about Mr. Bell in the appendix of any the three documents. Part 2 of the History of Aviation in the BC Forest Service covers Air Tanker Operations and may be found here, you can read about Conair's Firecats on pp. 16 to 19 of that document.

Conair Firecats in action

Conair in Abbotsford British Columbia (BC), Canada retired their last two Firecats in August 2012, I'll be writing about that in my post on January 16. In the meantime, I wanted to you to see the Firecats in action.

Takeoff 

direct link to video

Firecats in action

direct link to video

Firecat Tankdoor cockpit controls

direct link to video

Firecats reloading (retardant) at Kamloops Airtanker Base (Abbotsford BC)

direct link to video

Wildfires in Australia still burning

The wildfires in Australia continue to burn.

direct link to video

Report on wildfires in SE Australia from Australian Broadcast Co (1/12/13) (with video and links)

More videos and a photo gallery

BBC (1/8/13) on wildfires in New South Wales AU (Air Crane footage)

BBC (1/8/13) on Australian wildfires and high temps (helo with bucket)

CNN photo gallery including picture of some of 10,000 sheep that have died

Wildfires continue in Australia, serious threat remains

Over the last couple of days I have frequently found my thoughts turning to the numerous wildfires currently burning all over eastern Australia. At the time I wrote this article there was a video report on ABC News in Australia that while the wildfire situation has eased up a bit in New South Wales, uncontained fires continue and the wildfire threat is far from over, unfortunately the video is expired.

In a report on ABC Australia that I believe was issued yesterday (Australia time), authorities say that somewhat cooler weather returned with a return to hot weather expected to return later this week; firefighters as well as affected residents talk about their experiences. 

I don't know specifics about tankers and helicopters used to fight these wildfires in Australia, but I have seen images of helicopters and perhaps a SEAT or two in the reports I cited above and possibly elsewhere in my recent wonderings about the internet. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote an article on the Australian wildfire season about a month ago with a listing of aerial wildland fire support assets used in Australia. Mike Archer of the Fire Publications Blog included a nice article from the Southland Times about a Bell 214 Helicopter pilot working the wildfires in Tasmania in his posting for January 7, 2013. that you might want to check out.

In the meantime Mike Archer continues of the Fire Publications Blog continues to cover the ongoing wildland fire situation in Australia on January 8 and January 9. Bill Gabbert has written about the Australian wildfire season on January 8 and January 9 (check out the videos.

Last but by no means least at the time I wrote this article the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) has a nice webpage with links to stories, videos, and other information about the current wildfire situation in Australia. 

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

Wildfires in Tasmania (Australia)

Video that I originally embedded here is no longer available and the link is removed (8/2/15)

Yesterday as I was driving I heard a report on the radio about wildfires burning in Tasmania (Australia) so I decided to try to find some more information for you. As you may know, it is summer down under and wildfire season. At the time I write this, this is what I know about the wildfires in Tasmania:

• Wildfires started on Thursday, Jan. 3. 
• At least 20,000 hectares (49,422 acres) have burned and this figure may be understated. 
• At least 100 homes and other buildings have been destroyed. 
• Approximately one hundred people are missing.
• Wildfires burning in other States in Australia.

For more information:
Wildfire Today on Tasmania wildfires
Tales of survival and photo gallery from ABC Australia. I don't know any details about air support for the Tasmania wildfires, but I did see one photo of a helo with a bucket working one of the Tasmania wildfires in the photos from ABC Australia.
Wildfires in Tasmania from the Guardian
CBC on wildfires in Tasmania
More on Fires in Tasmania and fire danger elsewhere in Australia from the Guardian
Photo gallery from BBC

Wildland Firefighters: Deployment via Heli-rappelling

Specially trained wildland firefighters are deployed to wildfires in remote and difficult to access areas via rappelling from a hovering helicopter.

Demonstration

direct link to video

Edited on May 16, 2016: removed link to youtube video that is no longer available

wildland firefighters: smokejumpers in action

Smokejumpers in action working a wildfire in Alaska during the 2012 season



direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: About Smokejumping

I embedded a short video about smokejumping in Alaska last Friday  and want to spend a little more time on the important role that smokejumpers play in fighting wildland fires. Rather than reinvent the wheel so to speak, I am going to embed two videos about smokejumping that I first embedded over three years ago (July 2009) in a series on smokejumpers.

direct link to video, that I first shared on July 17, 2009. Note, you will see some footage of the DC-3 used in Missoula for smokejumping. One DC-3 smokejumping aircraft was retired this past October, see this article on Wildfire Today for more info. I believe that the DC-3 smokejumping aircraft based in Missoula will be flying again this coming season.

direct link to video, that I first shared on July 20, 2009.

Wildland Firefighting: smokejumper training in AK

direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: Crews battle 2007 fire near Prescott, AZ

direct link to video Click on the about link when you get to youtube for more information on the wildfire that you see in the video. This fire that burned on June 28, 2007 came very near to some houses before being stopped by the wildfire crews. 

Remember that the airtankers and helicopters do what they do to support the crews on the ground. I am going to continue posting about the wildland fire crews on the ground over the next week to 10 days, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone.

The Shepard

direct link to video on youtube, click on about for links to more information about The Shepard and Alan Maitland

A good friend of mine first told me about The Shepard about three years ago now. I love this story. Some of you may already be familiar with this story, others of you may be hearing this for the first time. Enjoy!

Stay safe!

Happy holidays everyone!

Wildland firefighters: Slide Mt. Hand Crew (2007)

direct link to video

Wildland firefighters: hotshot crews (2 of 2)

And continuing with hotshot crews, this video is about  a 2008 hotshot crew from Idaho City.

direct link to video

Wildland Firefighters: Hotshot Crews 1 of 2

In the next few articles, I'll be using some videos to let you into the world of wildland firefighters on the ground. This video is about the Dela Rosa Hotshots, the oldest hotshot crew in the U.S. You will also see some footage of air tankers and helos working in support of the crews on the ground. For a description of the different type of wildland firefighting ground crews (U.S. Federal Government), including type 1 interagency hotshot crews, see this webpage.

direct link to video

Esperanza Fire (2006, CA) Entrapment

This copyrighted video from Photo1Productions is about the 2006 Esperanza Fire where five USFS Firefighters lost their lives in a wind driven burn over. May we always remember: Pablo Cerda, Mark Loutzenhiser, Jason McKay, Jess McLean and Daniel Najera.

  direct link to video, please read the info about the video

To read more about the Esperanza Fire you will want to read the Oct. 26, 2012 article from CAL FIRE News. In addition, the WLF Always Remember Website has a page devoted to the 2006 Esperanza Entrapment.

Wildland Firefighters: staying safe - fire shelters

Aerial wildland firefighters do what they do in order to help and support the wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) contain and control the wildfire. They do this by putting the retardant or water/foam where the ground pounders need it most. From time to time I want to remind myself and those of you who find your way to this blog about the important work that wildland firefighters on the ground do to keep us safe. My intent in this article is to talk a little about what I have learned about one specific piece of safety equipment that wildland firefighters carry, the fire shelter.

After I first got interested in wildland firefighting in the Fall of 2008, it did not take me long to learn about fire shelters that wildland firefighters carry, these shelters are only deployed as a last resort. I wrote and article on this blog about fire shelters on Aug. 10, 2009, I urge you to take a few moments and review some of the information in that article. I believe that much of the information in that article is still applicable and you might want to take a look at the video of the Santiago Fire Shelter Deployment (with a happy ending).

A few months later, in May 2010, I posted an article here, with a video showing some of the training that wildland firefighters do with their shelters. I understand that the video makes it look a lot easier than it is.

I'm not sure that there is much more about fire shelters that I can say at this time, except to stress that a wildland fire fighter's fire shelter may be the most important piece of equipment that they carry. I did find a nice, but albeit long video (25 minutes plus) about the new generation fire shelter. I think the video is meant to be a training video, however I learned a lot from watching this video. I thought that some of you might enjoy watching this 25 minute video. 

Direct link to video.

Wildland Firefighters: Staying Safe - Personal Protective Equipment

Aerial wildland firefighters do what they do in order to help and support the wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) contain and control the wildfire. They do this by putting the retardant or water/foam where the ground pounders need it most. From time to time I want to remind myself and those of you who find your way to this blog about the important work that wildland firefighters on the ground do to keep us safe. My intent in this article is to talk a little about what I have learned about one specific aspect of what the ground pounders do, in this case personal protective equipment.

An important aspect of how wildland firefighters on the ground (aka ground pounders) stay safe is because of the type of clothing, helmets, gloves, boots, etc. that they wear. A few years ago, NOVA did an episode called the Fire Wars, the website that went with the program is still up and they have a page devoted to what wildland fighters wear and carry in their packs, for those of you who have a flash plug-in for your browser, there is a flash version. You will see that wildland firefighters also carry a fire shelter, which I'll get to in a later post.

The clothing, boots, gloves, helmets, boots, etc that wildland firefighters wear are also known as personal protective equipment or PPE. PPE must be worn properly, the video below goes into some detail about what happens when PPE is not worn or used properly. I believe that the intended audience for the video is probably wildland firefighters. However, I learned something from watching the video and I thought that some of you might enjoy the video.

direct link to video on youtube from the National Interagency Fire Center.

Note:

If you are interested in a federal wildland firefighting job, you might want to go to the jobs page of wildland fire dot com.  A brief discussion of what is involved in applying for federal and/or state/local wildland fire crews, may be found on this webpage from the National Wildfire Coordinatiing Group . Most states have state wildland firefighting agencies, a partial listing of (U.S.) State Wildland Fire Agencies by the folk at Wildland Fire dot cam may be found here.

Wildland Firefighters (ground pounders) 10 and 18

It was not all that long after I I first wrote about wildland firefighting in the summer of 2008 that I first heard about the 10 Standard Fire Orders and the 18 Watch Out Situations (go here to read this article). Before I began focusing first on wildland firefighting and then on aerial wildland firefighting I had a vague idea that safety is of the utmost importance to any emergency responder. A while back, one of my friends was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in New Jersey. If memory serves, she told me once that they were trained not to put their own lives in jeopardy when responding to a call. 

As I began to learn more about wildland firefighting both on the ground and in the air, I the importance that wildland firefighters put on staying safe had an increasingly profound impact on me. As I read various remarks, comments and forum posts by wildland firefighters (ground pounders) and those engaged in aerial wildland firefighting I observed that they would often their remarks with "stay safe."

When I thought about how to start this series of posts about wildland firefighting I knew that I had to begin by writing about the tools that wildland firefighters  (aka groundpounders) use to stay safe. And one of these "tools", if you will, are words in the form of the 10 Standard Fire Orders and 18 Watch Out Situations.

direct link to video

This is another nice short video from the National Interagency Fire Center on the 10 Standard Fire Orders that all wildland firefighters follow. In addition there are list of 18 situations that all wildland firefighters watch out for, aka the 18 Watch Out Situations:

1. Fire not scouted and sized up.
2. In country not seen in daylight.
3. Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
4. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior
5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
6. Instructions and assignments not clear.
7. No communication link between crewmembers and supervisors.
8. Constructing line without safe anchor point.
9. Building line downhill with fire below.
10. Attempting frontal assault on fire.
11. Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
12. Cannot see main fire, not in contact with anyone who can.
13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
14. Weather gets hotter and drier.
15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
16. Getting frequent spot fires across line.
17. Terrain or fuels make escape to safety zones

18. Feel like taking a nap near fire line

(obtained from http://www.nifc.gov/safety/safety_10ord_18sit.html on Dec. 5, 2012)

Over the last four years that I have writing the blog on aerial wildland firefighting, I have often referred to what is commonly known as the "Red Book" (revised annually) outlining standards for wildland firefighting here in the U.S. Chapter 7 of the Red Book is on safety, a link may be found here. For a listing of each chapter in the Red Book, as well as a link to a single PDF file for the latest Red Book, go here.

Aerial Wildland Firefighters fly to support the groundpounders.

Wildland Firefighters love what they do

Direct link to video

I want to spend sometime over the next few posts revisiting what wildland firefighting crews on the ground do. I am still thinking through how to go about this without rehashing what I have already done. I found the video this video in a group of videos from the National Interagency Fire Center on youtube. I expect that I'll be using some of these videos in the coming days as appropriate. In the meantime enjoy the video.

A Tribute to all wildland firefighters in the air and on the groud

Direct Link to Video

This video by 664 Freedom was done in 2008 and expresses in photos my heartfelt gratitude for all that you in the wildland firefighting community do to keep us safe. You will see groundpounders, smokejumpers, helos, and airtankers of various sizes. Remember that the airtankers and helos work to support the firefighters on the ground by putting the retardant or the water where it is needed.

About wildland firefighting airspace

Here is a nice video about wildland firefighting airspace from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. I'd like to thank my friends from Section B-10 of the NJ Forest Fire Service for bringing this to my attention. I enjoyed the video and hope that you do as well. A direct link to the video may be found here.

Dozers and helos work a wildfire

When I saw this video taken from inside a dozer working a remote wildfire I was reminded of the important work that all the men and women on the ground do to put out wildfires. You will want to read the info provided by judgegixxer who posted the video, here. There is some nice footage of a couple of helos at the beginning of the video including some shots from inside a helo. I enjoyed watching the footage taken from inside a dozer cutting line. Stay safe out there.

more wildfire activity in the southeast and enhanced fire Wx in NJ on 11/24

I continue to be interested in wildfire activity here this fall here on the east coast. Some of you may know that the National Weather Service issued a warning for enhanced fire weather on Saturday, Nov. 24, thanks to my friends at the National Weather Service I found an NWS website for archived statements, warnings, watches, advisories and the like issued by the NWS. An archive of the enhanced fire weather warning for Nov. 24 issued by the Mt. Holly office should be found here (I hope). I would hope that if there was any major fire activity on the 24th that I might have gotten wind of it by now, but I have heard of no such activity. However, I still have my ears open for such news and will post an update on this page if I hear of anything.

In the meantime, I continue to be interested in wildfire activity in the southeastern portion of the U.S., especially in Tennessee. Thanks to Mike Archer's good work on his fire publications blog where I just now read today's article (Nov. 26), I saw that he included articles about wildfires in Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. Rather than repost Mike's links, I'll let you go the article Mike wrote today (Nov. 26) and read what you are interested in.

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

I'll continue to monitor wildfire activity in the eastern and southern regions in the U.S. and will report back here about significant activities.

I am reminded that wildfire season is not necessarily ever over. . .

updated on October 12, 2015 to remove dead links.

OK family lost home in wildfires giving thanks

I was touched by the story of the Spencers of Mannford OK. The Spencers lost their home in the wildfires that burned in Oklahoma last summer. While it is a couple of days after Thanksgiving here in the U.S., it is still the season. And giving thanks is always timely. 

I thank Mike Archer of the Firebomber Publication Blog who included the story of the Spencers in his posting on November 23.

Unfortunately, the story and video from Fox23 is no longer available.

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

Fall fire season still with us in some parts of U.S.

Reading Mike Archer's Firebomber's Publications today I saw a few articles on mostly smaller wildfires that are still burning or have burned in the southeastern U.S. I am reminded that the fall wildfire season is still with us in some portions of the country. With thanks to Mike Archer for bringing these articles to my attention, I share them with you now.

Unfortunately, the links to many of the stories that I referred to when I originally wrote this article have expired and the links have been removed.  

Wildfires in East Tennessee

Knoxnews report on wildfires

The url to the report from WATE is no longer available.

Wildfire in Hawkins County, Tennessee

Unfortunately the story and video from WBIR on this fire is no longer available.

Cherokee, NC

When I wrote this article there was a report from Fox Carolina on a 100 acre fire in Smoky Mt. National Park that was recently contained. This article is no longer available.

Small wildfire in Osceola National Forest in Baker County, FL

The link to the article from ActionNewsJax on heavy smoke from a fire in the Osceola National Forest is no longer available. 

Red Flag Warnings

Meanwhile, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today reported here on Red Flag conditions in portions of Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Florida.

Revised on October 12, 2015 to remove dead links.

Catching up with wildland fire news, sort of

As some of you already know I had articles set to post during the almost two weeks that I was without power thanks to Superstorm Sandy and just last week I posted a couple of articles here and here. 

I have given some thought to how I will transition back to writing about aerial wildland firefighting. There were things that I did not know. For example, I did not know that there were a few wildland firefighting crews working in NY and NJ in the aftermath of Sandy. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes these crews who were helping in the Sandy recovery on Nov. 6 and wrote another article with pictures on Nov 7. Thanks to all of you who came to help us out, words can not adequately express my gratitude.

When I was online at wireless hotspots during Sandy, I did get wind of the Devore Fire in San Bernardino CA that has since been contained. I'm not quite sure how many of the P-2 and the BAe-146 tankers are still on contract. I suspect that most of them are off contract by now, but I'm not certain. 

When I checked my e-mail, I was able to read headlines of wildland fire news thanks to Mike Archers Fire Publications Blog. It is not the details that were important to me, rather the Fire Publications Blog was a connection to the world of wildland firefighting and firebombers, a sign of normalcy if you during a time when there was much in my life that was abnormal. I'm not even going to try to play catch-up on what at this time is three weeks worth of firebomber news, I'll leave you to your devices if you are so inclined. 

Finally, I am aware that while wildland firefighting season is winding down in some parts of the United States, there continue to be smaller wildfires around the country. And wildfire season is cranking up down under in Australia.

I have to say that I missed being able to keep up with current news affecting aerial wildland firefighting. And I am glad to be back. 

Blackburn Fire (CA) Footage

direct link

I may be making one or two more posts regarding post Super Storm Sandy recovery, but I do intend to return to focusing on aerial wildland firefighting, hopefully on Monday. In the meantime, enjoy this video from Nick Mitchell on aerial operations over the Blackburn Fire in CA.

Superstorm Sandy Recovery -- Out of State Utility Crews in NJ

I want to take a few moments and thank the many out of state utility crews who came from around the United States and Canada to help us out here in the mid-atlantic. Words can not adequately express my gratitude. I am going to focus on NJ, because it is where I live. First, I was able to get a few pictures in the last few days of a three out of state utility crews.

Utility worker from Intren (Union IL) at staging area awaiting his next work order

Crew from Robert Henry Corp (South Bend IN) replaced a transformer

Crew from Robert Henry Corp (South Bend IN) replaced a transformer

Crew from Penelec (NW PA) replacing wire

Crew from Penelec (NW PA) replacing wire

Here is a list of out of state utility crews that I saw in my town and in adjoining towns in NJ:

Pike Electric, I believe that it was a Pike Electric Crew that restored power to our neighborhood on Nov. 9th, thanks guys!! Some of the Pike crews were from Alabama
Henkels and McCoy Intren (IL) PenElec (Northwest PA)
Robert Henry Corp

Elliot Electric Contractors

Duke Energy (NC)

Georgia Power

Here is a video from the Asbury Park Press that I thought you might enjoy showing a couple of the tent cities set up in Ocean County NJ, for the out of state crews. Ocean County's barrier islands were among those hard hit by Superstorm Sandy. For more info see this Asbury Park Press article (also includes link to video).



Finally, a couple of articles and a photo gallery: Asbury Park Press - Nebraska Power workers going home.
Star Ledger -- Utility workers come to NJ's aid
Star Ledger photo gallery out of state utility crews

Superstorm Sandy recovery: thank-you tree crews

Most of you have no doubt heard that there were a lot of trees down here in New Jersey and in other regions impacted by Superstorm Sandy. When trees come down and bring down electric wires with them, tree crews that specialize in doing utility work have to come in before the utility crews can restring the electric wires.

Yesterday morning, one of these tree crews from Asplundh were doing some work on my street. In this case, they were coming through my street after having already cleared out trees that were entangled in wires. Specifically, they were trimming trees along the electric line. I was glad to see them do this work.

As it was easy for me to do, I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of this crew, from West Virginia, doing there work. In the preceding two weeks, I saw many Asplundh trucks in my town and adjoining towns clearing trees.

I start out this series of photographs with some photos on a street near me where there were a large number of trees entangled with wires. Asplundh came through last Thursday and Friday to clear out the trees from the wires in advance to the utility restoring power on that street Saturday night an Sunday. I took these photos of piles of cut trees yesterday morning. Imagine, if you will, these same trees entangled with wires. It was a mess.

Following the photos of the cut trees you will see some photos of the Asplundh bucket trucks. Thanks to my friends from Asplundh for helping us out.

SuperStorm Sandy: these trees were cut on Nov. 8 & 9th, power restored on Nov. 10/11/12.

SuperStorm Sandy: these trees were cut on Nov. 8 & 9th, power restored on Nov. 10/11/12.

SuperStorm Sandy: these trees were cut on Nov. 8 & 9th, power restored on Nov. 10/11/12.

Thanks Asplundh and other tree contractors for sending your tree crews to help us out!

Thanks Asplundh and other tree contractors for sending your tree crews to help us out!

Thanks Asplundh and other tree contractors for sending your tree crews to help us out!

Thanks Asplundh and other tree contractors for sending your tree crews to help us out!

Thanks Asplundh and other tree contractors for sending your tree crews to help us out!

Superstorm Sandy -- I'm back

I got my electric power back early evening on Friday, Nov 9. Eleven days without power. All that happened to me was some minor property damage that has since been repaired. A tree down that did no damage to utility wires or house. I am lucky. As I said to a friend this morning, all that happened to me was losing power. So many in NJ and elsewhere on the mid-atlantic coast and New England lost everything. The images that I saw in my newspaper of the devastation to the barrier islands of NJ and elsewhere do not do justice to the devastation. For them the recovery will take months, if not longer.

My arborist spent the better part of ten days just removing trees from roofs. Others lost much of their roof shingles during the storm, we only lost two or three and they have been replaced. Again, I am so fortunate,

I do want to take a couple of posts to thank the tree crews and the utility crews from around the country and from our friends in Canada who have been in NJ for two weeks or longer helping us get power back. Some of these crews arrived a couple of days before the storm to be ready to help us. I do have some pictures that I'll be posting as well. I'll be writing to thank the tree crews tomorrow, Nov. 13 and will write to thank the utility crews on Nov. 14.

Blue Angels at Miramar 2012 pt 1

direct link

Air Tractor 802F

direct link to video

Enjoy!

Superstorm Sandy -- 10 days later

A lot of folk here in NJ and elsewhere in the tri-state area (NY and CT) have been hit much worse by Superstorm Sandy than I have. All things considered while I am a tad uncomfortable at times on day 10 without power, I am grateful. Only minor damage to my house which was prepared prior to the nor'easter that hit yesterday. We only had a trace amount of snow in my area, other areas especially the shore counties of Monmouth and Ocean got 6 to 12 inches. One more cold night ahead then a tad warmer for four days. I'll take it.

The County and Township Office of Emergency Management are staffed by wonderful people and I feel cared for by both.

I am currently at a hotspot provided by the Lowes near my house, and they are getting to know me.

To all the out of state utility crews, forestry workers, structure firefighters, policeman, relief workers, etc., etc. I thank all of you for helping us out.

I don't know when I'll get my power back, and perhaps when I do I won't have the internet. If that is the case, I won't complain. I've posted articles through Nov. 14 on a MWF schedule.

Be safe everyone!

Fifty years of Air Tractor - Leland Snow

direct link to video

Enjoy! 

Superstorm Sandy - one week later

It is now one week after "Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. I am sure that most, if not all of you, have heard some of the media coverage of this event. It is not my intent to rehash that coverage here. Rather, I am checking in to tell all of you that I am in day 7 without power. Our power went out within 30 minutes after Sandy made landfall in southern NJ.

I am hanging in, A little cold at times. Minimal property damage, We are lucky. I have good neighbors, and some powered friends nearby who have been a big help doing things like recharged the back-up battery for the sump pump in the basement, showers, hot coffee, refilling jugs of water, etc. The nearest town is mostly powered by now with grocery stores, restaurants, home improvement stores, other stores, gas stations (albeit with lines at times), recharging and wifi stations, free water and ice.

I am not quite sure how much longer our power will be out. And it is possible that we will get power restored and still not have internet service. So, I'll post back here where when my power and internet is restored.

I am writing this from a warm place with wifi access although the wifi is somewhat intermittent. If I am able, I'll try to post another couple of articles that will automatically post the week of Nov 12.

In the meantime, I want to take a few moments to thank all the utility crews, both in state and out of state who are working very hard to restore power to all of us in NJ. I'd especially like to thank the crew from Sarasota FL who was on my street last night who was doing assessments of the probable cause of my outage in advance of bucket crews coming through.

Lee Brothers (Cranberries), Speedwell NJ

The second cranberry grower that I visited was Lee Brothers with 130 acres.

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

I got an opportunity to see a little of the Lee Brother's cranberry harvest when I visited. I understand that the Lee Brothers uses different harvesting techniques from Pine Island. I got to see them deploy the yellow crane-boom, it is on the large spool you will see being pulled by the green tractor. The harvest crew rakes the cranberries with the aid of a large blower into the crane-boom in one corner of the bog.

It was pretty cool to watch them work. I would like to thank the Lee family for taking a few moments out of their busy day to describe what I was seeing.

Enjoy these photos that I took the day of my visit to the Lee Brothers.

Lee Brothers Cranberry Bog

Lee Brothers Cranberry Bog

Cran-boom is on the large spool behind the tractor

Tractor with blower

Cran-boom being deployed

Raking cranberries

Cran-boom being deployed, tractor is moving.

Cran-boom being deployed, tractor is moving.

Cran-boom being deployed, tractor is moving.

Cran-boom being deployed, tractor is moving.

Raking and blowing

Raking and blowing

Blowing cranberries