2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up - Feb 2019 update

I have written Three articles on the Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up. On December 19, 2018 I introduced the hazardous waste clean-up that is taking place in two phases. Phase one, completed on or about February 2, 2019, involved the removal of household hazardous waste See this Camp Fire Response graphic (I am not sure how long this graphic will be available). With the completion of phase one, phase two is probably well under way. In my January 4th article I covered precautions that people should take when re-entering their property after the hazardous waste is completed but before debris and ash removal is completed. Finally, I wrote on January 11th about the conundrum of where to put the non-hazardous debris, I don't know the resolution of this.

My understanding is that fire related debris is removed under phase two through a government-sponsored debris removal program for those who have elected to participate or through an alternative debris removal program. Links to the phase 2 program may be found on the Butte County Recovers website. As I write this, I am not sure how long these links will be active.

To the best of my knowledge ash will be removed under phase two. More soil samples will be taken under phase two for testing. See this CAL recycles webpage for more information.

The following items are eligible for removal according to this document on the 2018 Consolidated Wildfire Debris Removal Program (California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, CAL Recycle, Butte County Recovers, Town of Paradise California):

• Destroyed residential houses (includes all out buildings on the property).
• Residential houses with significant damage (1 wall standing).
• Occupant damaged houses.
• Occupant owned manufactured housing units (mobile homes).
• Commercial / rental manufactured housing units (mobile homes).
• Commercial structures.
• Combined use, commercial and residential.
• Vehicles and boats if on property where a home was destroyed / there is another structure eligible for removal.
• Destroyed garage / shed / non-commercial barns / play structures and other outbuildings will be removed if it is 120 square feet or more.
• Foundations (slab on grade excluding seismic piers) will be removed.
• Basements . wine cellars will be removed or fenced.

The following items are not eligible for removal according to this document on the 2018 Consolidated Wildfire Debris Removal Program:

• Residential houses with significant damage, more that 1 wall standing. However, the structure may be eligible if it presents an immediate threat to life, public health, or safety. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Partially damaged houses (minimal damage)
• Vehicles and boats not meeting the criteria for removal (above). However, if they are in the public right of way, the county will remove / owner can have insurance remove.
• Destroyed garage / shed / non-commercial barns / play structures and other outbuildings it it is less than 120 square feet.
• Residential swimming pools are not removed but will be fenced.
• Driveways and retaining walls.
• Trees are not eligible for removal unless they present a danger to workers
• Patios.
• Seismic piers.
• Wells.
• Septic tanks.
• Docks are not eligible unless it presents an immediate threat to life, public health, or safety. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Great fire photography of the NJ Forest Fire Service courtesy of NJFFS Section B10

Enjoy this video, just under five minutes of great fire photography of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service fighting wildfires over the last 20 years. The photographs are shot by various photographers and firefighters and complied into this video by my friends at NJFFS Section B-10. Great job everyone and stay safe!


Direct link to video from NJFFS Section B-10

Curtiss P-36 Hawk in memory of my Grandpa

Grandpa this article is for you.

My Grandpa died forty years ago. If I have not said this before, I believe that I got the aviation bug from Grandpa. He was aeronautical engineer in the late 20s into the early 50s when he switched careers to teach ninth grade mathematics

He did not talk a lot about his career as an aeronautical engineer, and I knew not to push. One of the last conversations we had was about aviation. I don't quite recall what we talked about, but we had a great time. And I remember that he lit up. So, that is how I want to remember my Grandpa.

I'd like to think that he is smiling at me from the great beyond and understands my love of aviation and this blog.

I do happen to have a copy of his college alumni records where he listed his places of employment. I had been meaning to poke around on the internet to see where he was working prior to World War II when he was working for Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank CA. He worked for Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo New York from 1932 to 1936. So, I went to the Curtiss-Wright Website to see if I could find out what they were doing during the period when Grandpa was working there. Curtiss-Wright has a history page. Clicking on the link for 1929 to 1938 revealed that they worked on the Curtiss P-36 Hawk as well as designing and building the 9-cylinder Wright engines for the Boeing B-17. Now I have absolutely no idea what he did at Curtiss-Wright. When I wrote my about the B-17, I had not considered where my Grandpa was working for I would have at least mentioned Grandpa in an appropriate article. Oh well.

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk was a single-seat monoplane fighter that was operated prior to and during World War II. She had one Wright R-1820-G205A Cyclone piston radial engine. She was capable of a maximum speed of 322 mph or 280 knots. See this Military Factory article for more information about the specifications. I found a fourteen minute historical video on Youtube about the production of the Curtiss P-36, those of you who are interested may go here to watch this video. At 10:44 you may watch them put the engine in.

Here are two short videos you might enjoy. The first video is two minutes of footage from a 1939 newsreel highlighting Buffalos role in aircraft production


Direct link to video on Youtube

The second video is footage of a restored Curtiss P-36 on her inaugural flight prior to the 2015 Legends Airshow.


Direct link to video on Youtube

More reflections on ten years of blogging about aerial wildland firefighting from a non-pilot aviation enthusiast

In the fall of 2008, I got interested in wildland firefighting, see my June 29, 2018 article for reflections on learning about wildland firefighting. In late 2008 and early 2009, I met a now very good friend and retired tanker pilot and aviation historian who offered to introduce me the world of aerial wildalnd firefighting. I took him up on his very generous offer. He and I remain good friends to this day. He spent a lot of time with me over e-mail and sometimes over the telephone in the first three or four years of this blog. Through him, I met other retired and current tanker and helicopter pilots as well as others in the business. The help of all this fine folk has been invaluable to me over the years. Ten years later, I know that these friends have my back. This is important because I write this blog more as an observer and not a participant.

I wrote my first article introducing my interest in aerial wildland firefighting on January 23, 2009. About 18 months later I made the decision to change the name of the blog, making a quiet but more public commitment to blogging aboutaerial wildland firefighting and related concerns. Little did I know that for years I had buried what I know now to be a lifelong passion for aviation. As I learned about the world of aerial wildland firefighting, my thirst for knowing about aviation grew.

A dream that I had of getting a pilot’s license can never happen. That is the things are sometimes. But I did not let the fact that I will never be licensed pilot stop me. I attended aviation ground school, but never went further than that. Through aviation ground school, I learned the basics of flying, at least as much as I could through books. I was fortunate that I found some pilot friends who took me flying, I was always in the right seat and never handled the controls of the airplane. Yes, at the direction of the pilot, I may tune in the radio to the correct frequency. I had learned a little about navigation so I can plot a route and follow along on my maps using visual cues on the ground.

I love to read about flying. When I am reading a book that was written by a pilot, in a sense I can fly through their words and their descriptions of the landscapes they flew over. I like reading about aviation history and am currently reading a couple of books about the early female pilots, including but not limited to Amelia Earhart, there a slew of lesser know female pilots of that era, some died. But many male pilots died as well. I have huge amounts of respects for these early women of the air. I promise to write more about some of these women in later articles, but I want to finish reading these books first.

I also like videos shot from the cockpit, both fire fighting tankers and helicopters as well as general aviation aircraft.

My passion for aviation has broadened my horizons in other ways, I have gotten more interested in weather and try to pay some attention to the aviation resources that NOAA and other agencies use to help weather forecasters.

I would be remiss to not take a moment to remember all the wildland firefighters on the ground, I have learned about the work that you do over these ten years. The air support, when available, is there to help these “ground pounders” fight wildfires. I learned about how the ground pounders communicate with aerial resources, that they work together to contain the fire.

I am not a wildland firefighter or any other kind of firefighter. I hope that my blog honors all the great work that you do, whether you be a firefighter on the ground or in the air.

Most important, I’d like to thank all of you who read this blog, I try to take you along on these various journeys that I have embarked on over these ten years.

Marcal Paper Plant (Elmwood Pk, NJ) burns down in wind driven fire

I usually do not write about structure fires, but due to the wind driven nature of the fire, I am making an exception in writing about the loss of the iconic Marcal Paper Plant in Elmwood Park (Bergen County), New Jersey. If any of you have ever driven on Interstate 80 in New Jersey, you may have passed the Marcal plant with it's cool red lighted sign.

Image from Google Earth Pro, street view (August 2018)

I believe that the fire started sometime on January 29th. Because fires were somewhat common at Marcal because of the highly combustable paper, Marcal had an in-house group of firefighters. At some point they called for mutual aid from the nearby towns.  The fire continued into January 30th. Then everything changed when a wind driven snow squall hit sometime between 3:25 PM and 3:50 PM.


Direct link to video from Tommy Gee Videos

I am familiar with the snow squall as it hit my town about an hour before, the winds kicked up with white out conditions. The snow squall only lasted about 10 or 15 minutes but it ushered in an arctic cold front with sustained winds of 20 to 25 mph and gusts up to 50 mph. I wanted to give you an idea of the winds that afternoon, so I called up the National Weather Service at Upton NY whose forecast area includes Bergen County. One of their Meteorologists gave me wind data for Teterboro Airport (KTEB) which is located about 5 miles southeast of the Marcal Plant. While not wind data for Elmwood Park, this wind data will give you an idea of the type of winds the firefighters were dealing with. Any errors in the data are mine.

Note the uptick in the winds at 3:51 PM, shortly after the snow squall passed through. For more information about the conditions the firefighters were facing, by this time it was a 10-alarm fire, read this NJ dot com article (with photos). Elmwood Park Fire Chief, Michael Sulick told NJ Advance Media (for NJ dot come) what happened when the squall hit:

Firefighters in Elmwood Park felt they were making progress against the fire in “Building 41” of the sprawling Marcal Paper campus, pushing back the flames with four lines, like they had done so many times over the decades.

Then, from the west, the squall hit, unleashing fierce winds that pushed the fire towards the sky. Within minutes, the 86-year-old plant, packed with combustibles, erupted into a raging inferno that continued to burn nearly a day later. 

“The roof caught fire, we heard cracking, we automatically pulled everyone out at that point,” Elmwood Park Fire Chief Michael Sulick said. “It just went downhill from that point on.”

The plant was burned to the ground. No firefighters were injured, and nearby residents were evacuated. I am not sure about damage to nearby residences.

When I lived in northeastern New Jersey almost 20 years ago, I frequently drove on that section of Route 80. The Marcal paper plant was an old friend, and I remembered their paper products. Five hundred people employed at Marcal are without jobs, Elmwood Park is grieving the loss of Marcal. I am saddened by the loss of the Marcal Plant, but I am very glad that no lives were lost and that most of the destruction appears to have been contained to the Marcal Plant complex.

Kudos to all the fire companies that responded, some of whom may have been volunteers.


Direct link to video on youtube from NJ dot com

2018 Fire Season: Wyoming Hotshots

The Wyoming Hotshots, based out of Greybull Whyoming, spent their 2018 fire season fighting wildfires in Colorado and Wyoming. I enjoyed getting to know this hotshot crew as they fought wildfires in Wyoming and Colorado. They have a nice Facebook page where you can find more photos and information about their 2018 fire season. I hope that you enjoy their 2018 fire season video, allow about six and a half minutes to watch the video.

Nice job in 2018, and best of wishes as you prepare for the upcoming fire season. Stay safe.


Direct link to video on Youtube uploaded by Birney Brayton.

2018 Fire Season: Entiat Hotshots

Enjoy this video from the Entiat Hotshots, hosted by the Entiat Ranger District in the  Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. They also have a Facebook Page where, you may learn about the crew and see some more photos of fires they worked. As regular readers know,  l like to share various crew videos highlight their fire season. Not only do these videos offer those of us who are not wildland firefighters a look into their world, but we get to the crew. Thank-you Entiat Hotshots for all you did to keep us safe in 2018.


Direct link to the video uploaded by Kevin Farrands

Correction: possible drone sighting in Newark-Liberty Airspace

I wrote on January 25, 2019 about pilot reports of a drone incursion over Teterboro Airport, about 20 miles north of Newark-Liberty International Airport, and on the approach corridor to Newark-Liberty. I must make a correction. That is, according to a January 23rd Washington Post article the FAA has not been able to independently confirm these sightings. Further drone industry experts are claiming that what was reported as drone sightings could have been bags, balloons, or space debris. See this Washington Post article for more information. I am, obviously, not in a position to make a comment one way or the other about the veracity of this apparent drone sighting.

Nonetheless, I continue to advocate for the safety of the airspace around our airports and implore drone (aka unmanned aircraft systems) to stay out of the airspace around airports. Further, and to the point of this blog, please do not fly your drone over wildfires, tankers and helicopters can not fly fires while drones are in the sky.

Drone incursion in Newark-Liberty Airspace

I have nothing against drones, I really don't. Drones are being used for a lot of good: storm surveys by the National Weather Service, agricultural aviation, scientific research and recreational uses such as photography outside of restricted airspace. Having said that, this is not the place to go if you want to learn about such uses. My concern here is and always be the safety of aviation operations both over wildfires and in and around our airports. I implore all who are use drones, aka unmanned aircraft systems that as applicable you register your drones with the FAA, stay out of airspace in and around airports, obey any applicable TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) and to the point of my blog, stay away from wildfires and structure fires.

Flight operations at Newark-Liberty International Airport were halted for a couple of hours on Tuesday, January 22nd when one or two drones were reported by the pilots of two planes near Teterboro Airport at 3,500 feet. Teterboro Airport is located under Newark's airspace about 20 miles north of the Newark-Liberty International Airport. See this report from CBS2 in New York (with video) and this NJ.com article.

A mid-air collision between a drone and an aircraft has the potential for fatal consequences. So far we have been lucky, but I fear the time will come when I drone will bring down an aircraft causing injuries or death to the occupants. In 2017 a drone collided with an Army Black Hawk Helicopter over Staten Island that later landed safely in New Jersey, see this article from NJ.com for more information. See the video report in this Business Insider report about what a drone collision with an aircraft wing could do.

January 26, 2019: I have read some reports on the internet speculating that the the alleged drone sightings by pilots on January 22nd may not have been drones. I posted a follow-up on January 28th, saying that the FAA has so far been unable to verify that a drone was sighted on January 22nd.

1910 Wildfires in the Northern Rockies (USA)

I am a fan of PBS and happened upon the listing for American Experience on January 22nd. American Experience reran their 2015 documentary on the Big Burn last night. I had watched it four years ago and enjoyed and watched it again last night. And I recorded it so I could watch it again. If you are accessing this post within a few days of January 23rd, you may be able to watch the stream on PBS American Experience: The Big Burn, it takes about an hour. At some point PBS will deactivate the stream, but if you go to the link you may watch several clips from the documentary. The film is based on Timothy Egan's book, The Big Burn which I just started to read.

The Big Burn is about the 1910 wildfires that hit the northern Rockies in the summer of 1910. It had been a very dry summer with prime conditions for wildfires. By early August, upwards of 2,000 wildfires were burning in the northern Rockies. On August 20th, hurricane force winds causing a big blow-up with the different wildfires merging and ultimately burning three million acres, killing 86 people including 78 firefighters. The United States Forest Service has a short write up of what they call The Great Blowup of 1910 that you may find here.

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I originally embedded here is no longer available.

Kudos to the National Weather Service

As we are a month into the partial shutdown of the U.S. Government, I am sure that most of you have read about the hardships faced by U.S. Government employees who are furloughed. Then there are those whose jobs are deemed of a critical nature so they are working without pay during the shutdown. The focus of this article is about our friends at the National Weather Service who are working without pay during this partial U.S, Government shutdown.

If I have not said so before, I will say it now, I hold the National Weather Service in very high regard. They are my go to place for weather information. I have the website of my local NWS Weather Forecast Office at Mt. Holly bookmarked and have a special widget on my iPad for ease of access. I know other media outlets and weather sites on the internet use the NWS radar as a source for their radar, and I have a free radar app on my iPad. Yes, the NWS forecasts as well as their various advisories, watches, and warnings are used by many media outlets and other private weather corporations. Nothing against those, but I prefer getting my weather directly from the NWS. And I have learned about meteorology by following the NWS. I serve as a volunteer for the NWS at Mt. Holly as a skywarn spotter. It is fun, and I am glad to help out. I have been serving as a skywarn spotter since Super Storm Sandy, in fact I made my very first skywarn spotter report the morning after Super Storm Sandy hit, reporting on the wind damage, our power outage, and transformer fires.

Everyone, and I mean everyone from the NWS either for this blog, or at Mt. Holly in my role as a skywarn spotter has been very professional and always helpful. Who else can you laugh with when you are making a report of ice accretion at 4 AM or laugh together when I trudge through the snow to take a snow measurement only to lose track of my snowboard because I did not do a good job marking the location of my snow board? They are dedicated and care about what they do.

We have had one of those difficult to forecast coastal lows here in the east over the weekend, and before it hit us in NJ it hit the midwest with a lot of snow. I was lucky this time, but north of us, not so much. Some areas north of us, e.g. Connecticut saw an ice storm, with snow further north. Last week California experienced winter rains along with flash flooding and debris flows on burn scars. Through it all, our friends at the NWS were working hard, often putting in longer hous to give us the information that we needed to keep safe.

Writing this post to thank all of my friends at the NWS who are working during this partial shutdown feels wholly inadequate.  But I write this to share my utmost respect for the NWS.

Here are two great articles that came across my electronic desk in the last couple of days about the NWS and the great work that they do:

• Outside Online, published January 18 2019 "The National Weather Service Our Best Federal Agency"
• NPR (January 18, 2019) Back to back snowstorms and no pay for federal weather forecasters.

CA rains: follow-up on January 18th

I am not in a position to provide a detailed follow-up to the post I wrote on January 16th where I wrote about rains continuing on burn scars in California with various Flash Flood Watches being issued by some of the Weather Forecast Office in California. I do know that there was significant rainfall in California as you can see from the map from the NWS California Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC) that they posted on their Facebook Page on January 18th.

Here is a map that I obtained from the CNRFC on January 18th. The orange circles indicate River gages that are at monitor stage.

Obtained at 12:08 PM PST on January 18, 2019 from https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

What is monitoring stage? Here is an example of data as of January 18th at 8:13 AM PST from a gage on the Sacramento River at Ord Ferry just southwest of Chico, CA. The gage is located in the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge in Butte County, California, go to the link in preceding sentence and scroll down to see a map.

Obtained on January 18, 2019 at 12:34 PM PST from https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=ORFC1

The dotted orange link in the above graphic is the bottom of the monitor stage. The data is revised several times a day so what you see if you go the url will be different from what is displayed above.

I do know from reading storm reports from the NWS San Diego whose storm report may be found here ,and the NWS Hanford CA (their storm report is on this website) that there were several reports of flash flooding and debris flows. I do not if there was any property damage from these flash floods and debris flows.  I know from the CBS station in Los Angeles that residents in and near the Holy burn scar in the Lake Elsinore area of Riverside County were under evacuation orders on January 17th, go here to read the article. Mandatory evacuation were downgraded to voluntary orders yesterday. I believe that the voluntary evacuation orders were lifted later on January 17th.

Rains continue over burn scars in California (January 16-17)

Fortunately, predicted high hourly rainfall rates during the January 15th rain event over the burn scars in Santa Barbara County did not materialize. Santa Barbara County emergency officials had issued evacuation orders for January 15th for residents below the Thomas, and the Wittier/Sherpa burn scars. These evacuation orders were lifted at 6 PM on the 15th because the storm moved on quicker than forecast with lower rainfall rates. While I understand the inconvenience of these evacuations,  debris flows are nothing to mess around with. Safety is paramount. I am glad that these evacuation orders were in place for the safety of the residents. See this article from the San Luis Obispo Tribune for more information.

Southern and Central California will see more rain this afternoon, January 16th, into Thursday January 17th.  Note revised on January 17th at 2:30 PM to include NWS Sacramento CA

See this graphic from NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard:

Obtained on January 16, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/lox/

And this graphic from the NWS Hanford CA:

Obtained on January 16, 2018 from https://www.weather.gov/hnx/

Here is a graphic from the NWS Sacramento CA:

Obtained on January 17, 2019 from NWS Sacramento CA FB page: here

And finally, this graphic from the NWS San Diego CA:

obtained on January 16, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sgx/

Flash Flood Watches (be prepared!) issued by some of the California NWS Weather Forecast Offices on January 16th for portions of their forecast areas that include burn scars:

• Flash Flood Watch issued by NWS Hanford for the Ferguson, Railroad and Pier burn scars.
• Flash Flood Watch issued by NWS Sacramento for the Carr, Delta, and  Mirtz burn scars
• Flash Flood Watch issued by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard for the Woolsey, Hill. South, and Stone burn scars.
• Flash Flood Watch issued by NWS San Diego for the Holy Fire burn scar.

The National Weather Service has a good page on flood safety, information about flood advisories, watches and warnings may be found here. I wrote a longer article on NWS Advisories, Watches and Warnings with a Focus on Fire Weather with a discussion on post-fire debris flows and Flash Flood Warnings.

Grumman S-2A airtanker footage (1973) "Red Shower"

This may be another oldie but goodie. Even so, it bears repeating for the history. The video is from 1973, a California Department of Forestry presentation about the Grumman S-2A airtanker. You will see some other historic tankers. Allow just under 17 minutes to watch the entire video.


Direct link to video uploaded by AAFAirtankerVideos

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up: a conundrum where to put non-hazardous debris?

The clean-up after the Camp Fire is still in phase one, the clean-up of hazardous waste where according to this Butte County website, 61.6 percent of properties in Paradise have been designated and signed as having hazardous wastes removed, see my January 4th article for more information. Once the hazardous waste clean-up is completed then phase two starts, debris removal. Where debris removal includes non-hazardous debris including but not limited to remnants of burned structures, furniture,non-hazardous household items and personal effects. See the Butte County Debris Removal website and my December 19th article for more information

I am not quite sure if ash is removed during phase one or phase two.

There are thousands of properties that will be included in phase two of the post Camp Fire clean-up. The conundrum is where will the non-hazardous debris go?  There are designated landfills for hazardous debris in California and Nevada. Officials are looking at nearby towns in northern California for a "temporary scrapyard" to store burned non-hazardous debris. Residents of these towns have understandable environmental and public health concerns. I have no answer for the conundrum of where to put the debris. But I can say that it is not uncommon that residents do not want such a scrapyard in their town. There is an article from Emergency Management reporting on various issues involving where to put non-hazardous debris from the Camp Fire.

As I said, I have no answers. It is a conundrum. This is a question facing both disaster officials and the residents of nearby towns who have been approached about hosting this scrapyard. Public comments from residents of towns under consideration to host this scrapyard have been solicited. At some point a site for this scrapyard will be chosen and people are going to be unhappy.

My thanks to Mike Archer of Wildfire News of the Day for sharing the article from Emergency Management the other day.

About NWS Warnings with attention to fire weather

Some of you may have notice that in the last day I have a new page on this blog, NWS Advisories, Watches & Warnings, where I have posted a long article that I wrote called National Weather Service Advisories, Watches, & Warnings with a Focus on Fire Weather.

Late last summer I got in a conversation with a couple of friends of mine about the difference between Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings issued by local National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Offices (WFO). I wanted to give them some good information so with the help of a couple friends from a couple of NWS WFO including my very own NWS Mt Holly WFO, I made some notes about Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings. To make a long story short, I did more reading on NWS websites. As I read more, I realized that I wanted to expand my notes into a longer article with the intention of providing information for the general public about various NWS advisories, watches and warnings focusing on fire weather.

The result is an article that is a little over six pages on my word processor. I was helped along the way by several NWS meteorologists from NWS WFOs around the country, including the Mt. Holly (Philadelphia) WFO. In addition, I was helped by a retired NWS meteorologist. They answered my questions, and provided new insights and where there when I wanted to know if my thinking was correct.

I hope that some of you find this article useful. It is my hope that this article will apply to those of you in rural as well as suburban and urban areas. Further while there is a special focus on fire weather; some of the advisories, watches and warnings I write about apply in situations where there are no current or recent wildland fires. There are numerous NWS links in the article that you can refer to for further information.

You will note that I refer to this article near the top right hand side of my blog for ease of reference. 

A Helo working fires in Saskatchewan (2015)

Some of you may have noticed that every so often I embed a video highlighting helicopters working wildfires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. And when I do so, I share the video in memory of my friend Matt, who is now flying in favorable tail winds. Matt was not a pilot but he was a fan of anything to do with helicopters and we had a lot of fun talking about helos. So Matt, this video below, of a 206 Long Ranger LII fighting wildfires in Saskatchewan is for you.


Direct link to video from Martin Camirand

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up -- Jan 4 2019 update

I wrote about the hazardous waste clean-up following the Camp Fire in my December 19, 2018 article. Recall that part one of the clean-up involves hazardous waste clean-up by teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the assistance of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Part two of the clean-up involves debris and ash removal. See the Butte County (CA) site on post-fire debris removal for more information.

As I write this, 45.8 percent of 13,000 properties in Paradise, California are designated (and signed) as hazardous waste removal being completed. The sign posted on the property designates that hazardous waste clean-up has been completed. In addition, a hazard fact sheet is posted. See this interactive website for current information, with maps.

I don't exactly know current information on resident re-entry into the fire area. That is, in early December 2018, I know that residents went to check points where giving a safety kit with information and protective clothing and a N95 mask to wear and instructions (see this re-entry page from Butte County recovers). Even when a property has been designated as having hazardous waste removal being complete, people must still take precautions when re-entering their property. Hazardous waste may still remain in building materials, ash on the ground and other areas of the property. As stated earlier, debris and ash removal falls under part two of the clean-up. Water may still be contaminated, including well water. Follow any water usage restrictions. Wells and septic systems may have been compromised.

I close with an excerpt from this Butte County Hazard Advisory:

DEBRIS AND HAZARDOUS WASTE

Fire damage can create significant health and safety hazards that may be present at individual properties. It is recommended that structure ash is not disturbed due to potential exposure to toxic materials. If you choose to visit your property, please consider the following:

• Wear sturdy shoes (steel toes and shanks are recommended) and clothing.
• Hazardous chemicals and conditions may be present.
• Inspect propane tanks for visible damage before turning on.
• Coverall clothing when in proximity to ash. Wear gloves, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants to avoid skin contact, whenever possible.  
• Goggles should be worn.Contact with wet ash may cause chemical burns or irritation on skin. Change your shoes and clothing prior to leaving the decontamination site, to avoid tracking ash into your car, home, etc.
• Anything in contact with ash should be cleaned and sanitized. Sorting through/cleaning fire debris is not recommended.
• Be aware of slip, trip, fall, puncture and overhead hazards.
• Do not use leaf blowers or do any activities that will put ash into the air.
• Wear a close fitting respirator mask that is rated N-95 or P-100 to block particles from ash or smoke from being inhaled. N-95 respirators are well-
• fitted when they do not come into contact with facial hair; strap tension is adequate, not overly tightened; and masks fit across the nose bridge. A tight seal would not be possible for most children, even with a small adult-size model. People with heart or lung disease should consult their physician before using a respirator. 
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the only agency that certifies respirators to determine that they adequately protect people. Look for NIOSH approval on the package or label.

DO NOT REMOVE ASH AND DEBRIS WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM BUTTE COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH 

Links in this article were valid at the time I wrote the article on January 4, 2019. I assume that these links will be active for as long as the clean-up continues. 

2018 Fire Season: Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center & Southern Oregon

Enjoy these two short videos summarizing the 2018 fire season in eastern Idaho and southern Oregon.

The first video is from Idaho Fire Info, summarizing the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center 2018 Fire Season. It is under two minutes long.


Direct link to video from Idaho Fire Info

The second and final video was uploaded by Jacob Sams, summarizing the 2018 fire season in southern Oregon.


Direct link to video from Jacob Sams

A Happy and Safe New Year to all.

I wish everyone a very Happy and Safe New Year. As 2018 winds down tonight, some of will be out celebrating, I wish all of you are celebrating a safe New Years Eve. Others may be traveling home tomorrow or the next day after time away.

I wanted to share a 2018 year in review video with you on the them of wildland firefighting and or first responders. Some of you know that among the states I have a special affinity for is Oklahoma. So it seems only fitting to share the following video with you from Oklahoma Emergency Services, titled "A Firefighter Tribute." The video is about Oklahoma, but the video speaks to this blog writer from New Jersey. Enjoy. Allow a little over eight minutes to watch the video.


Direct link to video from Oklahoma Emergency

Prescribed burns in U.S. Fall-Winter 2018-19

I was perusing Inciweb yesterday and noted that there is or has been a number of prescribed burns listed during the Fall and Winter of 2018-19. I am listing them below, any errors are mine. This list of prescribed burns is as of December 28, 2018. What you see when you access Inciweb may be different.

Indiana

Hoosier National Forest

Colorado

Big Horn Sheep 636 acres

Slash Pile Burning 2018

Dolores Ranger District

Idaho

Rapid River 5,000 acres

PV NIDGS 350 acres

Mill Creek Council Mountain

East Fork 2,130 acres

Rocky Bear 52 acres

Payette, Fall 2018 3,732 acres

Four Mile 2,000 acres

Bald Hill 1,200 acres

Nevada

Range Two Fire 9.196 acres

Arizona

KNF-GRCA North Zone, 2018-2019 3,000 acres

Kabob NF South Zone 300 acres

2018 Fall/Winter Burns 226 acres

Tonto National Forest 500 acres

California

Shasta Trinity

Kern River Ranger District 20 acres

Pine Cove

Oregon

2018 Umtilla NF

I am embedding a short video showing a controlled (aka prescribed burn) in the Mequon Nature Preserve in Wisconsin


Direct link to video on Youtube

Seasons Greetings and thank-you to all wildland firefighters

I took the last two days off to spend time with my family and friends during this holiday season. I am well aware that for many wildland firefighters -- on the ground or in the air -- as well as structure firefighters were working those two days to keep us safe. At times sacrificing time with their families. So, I want to take some time again, to thank all wildland firefighters for your service. I also want to wish all wildland firefighters and structure firefighters a very happy holiday season and a happy New Year.

The tribute video below may be a rerun, so to speak, as I have shared it at least twice on the blog. The video was uploaded to Youtube over tent years ago, but it stands the test of time, offering a good tribute to wildland firefighters. Further it was one of my favorites. I post this with thanks in my heart for all that wildland firefighters -- on the ground and in the air -- do to keep us safe.


Direct link to video on Youtube

Seasons Greetings

My end of year holiday tradition is to embed Frederick Forsyth's The Shepard, read by Alan Maitland. The Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) broadcasts The Shepard every year around this time of year. For those of you who don't have the easy opportunity to listen to The Shepard on CBC, I am embedding it below. Enjoy


Direct link to The Shepard on Youtube

Drone incursions at Gatewick Airport in London

I have written some articles about unmanned aircraft systems (aka drones) and the dangers they pose to aerial operations, including but not limited to aerial wildland firefighting. I continue to be aware of the problems that drone incursions may cause to aerial operations. Air tankers and helicopters are grounded from aerial operations over wildfires when drones are spotted. Drone operations near airports can pose a risk to airport operations.

When reading my daily newspapers, I noted that a drone incursion had shut down all flights into and out of Gatewick Airport in London from Wednesday night (December 19th) into early Friday morning (December 21st). As a result of the drone incursion(s) Gatewick was closed for about 32 hours during one of the busiest travel times of the year leading to chaos at the airport. The airport reopened to flights early in the morning of December 21st only to be have all flights suspended  late in the afternoon for an hour or so after another suspected drone incursion. See this December 21st article from the New York Times for more information.

I am embedding a video from BBC about the dangers drones pose to aviation and what the British are trying to do. Be advised that in the United States, drones have to be registered with the FAA, go to this FAA site to read about drone safety tips and drone operations. For information about drone registration with the F.A.A. go here.



Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire post fire hazardous waste clean-up

After I finished graduate school, I spent some time on a job where I had to have a passing familiarity with remediation of household, commercial, and industrial hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is any type of waste that poses a risk to public health, animals and the environment. No I am not any kind of expert in remediation or in environmental science or engineering. But I had to know the lingo and have a passing familiarity with what was involved with remediating sites contaminated with hazardous waste. At the very least, I had to be able listen and understand. That was over fifteen years ago. So when I was perusing some recent articles on the Camp Fire that recently decimated Paradise California, I was interested to see an article from KQED about the hazardous waste clean-up from the Camp Fire, go here to read the article.

I know that this is not the first large fire where hazardous waste clean-up is necessary. However, I was paying attention this time and because of my background fifteen plus years ago, I knew that I had to write about the hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise following the Camp Fire. It is important to consider that the hazardous waste clean-up is ongoing in Paradise at the time I write this and will be for awhile.

The hazardous waste clean-up in Paradise started on or about Monday, December 3rd. However, evacuation orders had to be lifted before work could start in a specific neighborhood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the lead agency. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) as assisting the EPA. Various agencies in Paradise are assisting including but not limited to the Police. My understanding is that the first phase of the post-fire debris removal program involves the cleaning up and removing household hazardous waste without cost to the homeowner. Commercial hazardous waste is also cleaned up in phase one. Household hazardous waste includes but is not limited to: asbestos, batteries (lead), paints, solvents, pesticides and herbicides, propane tanks, cleaners, etc. Once the household hazardous waste is removed that property will identified by means of a tag.

Only when the household hazardous waste has been removed, then part two, debris removal can begin. In part two the soil from the ash footprint will be scraped down to 3 to 6 inches with samples sent to a lab for analysis. If the soil testing indicates contamination, than more soil is removed and another soil sample is taken until the soil test is clear of contaminants. Go to this Butte County site on post-fire debris removal  for more information. As I write this, I am assuming that this site will be available until the debris removal is completed. It is my understanding that ash is removed in part 2, debris removal.

I don’t know exactly know how long the hazardous waste clean-up will take, and then there will part two, debris removal. I am also aware that there have to be other issues that homeowners whose residences are more or less intact after the Camp Fire may have to contend with, such as damage to private water wells and septic systems. Public water supplies are likely to be contaminated as well and residents should pay attention to any advisories regarding using their water, including but not limited to boil water advisories. Then there will be the health effects if any ash is left. And of course, the electric infrastructure is damaged.

Salmon Heli-Rappellers proficiency training

Heli-rappelling is an important aspect of wildland firefightings as specially trained wildland firefighters rappel down from helicopters to often remote areas to work a wildland fire. Enjoy this video showing the Salmon Heli-Rappellers proficiency training shot using a helmet camera. From 2014.


Direct link to video

Thank-you wildland firefighters (2018 version)

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing a great tribute video on their video of the week page (updated weekly).

I share this video in honor of, and to thank all the wildland firefighters on the ground and in their air as well as their support teams for your service in 2018, sometimes under very difficult conditions.


Direct link to video from MacCloud Entertainment

USFS one-year air tanker contracts

Regular readers know that I follow Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today  and Fire Aviation websites. I am sure that many of you follow Bill's websites. Those of you who are interested in staying current on the news affecting wildland fire fighting and fire aviation will want to follow his websites.  No doubt that some of you are already familiar with Bill's December 6th Fire Aviation article, "Forest Service moving to one-year contracts for air tankers." I hope that those of you who have not read Bill's article on the upcoming one-years contracts for air tankers will do so now, it is well worth the read and perhaps you will want to bookmark the article as I have done. I decided to make this post referencing this article that Bill wrote because I think the news of the upcoming one-year contracts for air tankers is important. I don't really have anything original to add, but I do want to reference a couple of points that he makes.

Those of you who are so inclined, may be interested in looking at the RFP solicitation that Bill linked to in his article. For your convenience, I am providing a link to this RFP solicitation found on the FBO website here. The RFP calls for a one-year contract for air tankers with options for four additional one-year contracts. I believe that the solicitation is calling for up to five large air tankers. Contracts will commence with the 2019 calendar year.

After reminding us about the overall decrease in air tankers from 44 in 2002 to 14 in 2018, Bill points to the difficulties this type of contract could pose to contractors seeking to add new air tankers to their fleet of air tankers:

Air tankers are very expensive to purchase and retrofit. Most of the jet-powered tankers being used today before being converted were retired from their original mission and are decades old  . . .  Most air tanker operators in the United States prefer to buy retired airliners like the BAe-146,  DC-10, or variants of the C-130 and convert them to carry and dispense retardant. Retrofitting alone runs into the millions. Few if any vendors can simply write a check to purchase and convert an air tanker, so they have to convince a lender to give them large sums of money usually even before they have a contract with the USFS. With this new one-year contract policy, obtaining those funds could be even more difficult. (Bill Gabbert, Forest Service moving to one-year contracts for air tankers)

You will want to read Bill's article for more information and analyses.

I remain concerned about the smaller number of large air tankers on exclusive-use contracts. I am very cautiously hopeful that, if awarded, this solicitation could result in up five additional large air tankers on contract in 2019. However, as Bill points out, the USFS has the option of not exercising its option to contract for these large air tankers in years two through five.

I am sure that Bill will do his usual good job in following the status of this solicitation and any resulting awards. I will be following Bill's Fire Aviation website for developments and hope that you do as well

2018 wildfire season: Vista Grande Hotshots

Enjoy this 24 minute video from the Vista Grande Hotshots (San Bernadino National Forest, California) summarizing their 2018 wildfire season. In the first three minutes or so you will meet the crew. Then the video takes you through highlights of their fire season. Included among the wildfires they worked are:

Pawnee/County Fire (MDF) at approximately 4 minutes (m)16 seconds (s)
Lassen National Forest at approximately 6m.50s
Carr Fire, Redding California at approximately 9m12s'=
Cranston Fire, BDF at approximately 11m23s
Holy Fire, Cleveland National Forest at approximately 13m04s
Hirz Fire, Shasta-Trinity National Forest at approximately 15m58s
Colorado at approximately 18m18s
Small fires and random photos at approximately 20m23s


Direct link to video uploaded

Remembering the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

At some point in my youth, perhaps when I was in high school. I asked my parents what they remembered about the day Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked. As I recall, and acknowledging that memory can sometimes be unreliable, both of my parents knew exactly where they were when they heard about the attack. I wish I could say that I remember what they told me. But that isn't important. What is important is that they remembered.

One of my grandfathers, an officer in the U.S. Army, served in the war. My other grandfather was a civilian who worked in the aeronautical industry supporting the air war. I thank them for their service.

I to remember, not in the same day that my parents and those of their generation did, but I remember.

And #WeRemember

So, because #WeRemember, I share this video from the US Army that they uploaded to youtube for National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.


Direct link to video on Youtube uploaded by the U.S. Army

RIP George H. W. Bush: WWII Naval Aviator and 41st President

Today, I pause to remember the passing of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States. He was the last President who served in World War II. He served as a naval aviator. I understand that he is wearing his airplane socks.

I expect that most of you in the U.S. have heard by now of his service in World War II and that his plane was shot down in the Pacific.

President Bush, may you fly in favorable tail winds.

Even if you are familiar with President Bush's World War II service, please take three minutes to listen to his son, Neil Bush, talk about his Father's military service.

Updated on December 20, 2020: the video that I shared when I first posted this article is no longer available.

Military Helicopters fighting wildfires

Please enjoy these two videos of military helicopters working wildfires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. Both videos were uploaded by Gung Ho Vids.

In the first video, from 2014, you will see U.S. Marine helicopters working out of Camp Pendleton in southern California.


Direct link to video


The video below shows National Guard helicopters working wildfires in Oregon and Washington.


Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: Mad River Hotshots

In November 2018, I had shared a nice video summarizing the Mad River Hotshots 2018 fire season. Unfortunately it is no longer available.

Neptune Aviation Tankers with some SEATs

I have been writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting for almost ten years now. I began writing about wildfires in fall of 2008 moving into learning about and writing about tankers and helicopters used to fight wildfires in early 2009. When I was first wrote about airtankers in 2009, among the tankers that I first learned about were Neptune Aviation's P-2V tankers and Aero Union's P-3 tankers. Both of these contractors had Exclusive Use Contracts with the US Forest Service in those days. The US Forest Service terminated it's contract with Aero Union's P-3 tankers in August 2011.

Neptune Aviation is still around but the last of their Lockheed P-2V Tankers retired at the end of the 2017 season. Neptune Aviation started flying BAe-146 tankers a few years, now their entire tanker fleet are BAe-146 tankers.

For no particular reason, I have been thinking of the Neptune Aviation tankers that I have known, the now retire P-2V tanker and the BAe-146 tankers. So I am sharing some videos with you today, with some SEATs thrown in. Gotta love the very versatile SEATs.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Tanker and helicopter wildfire footage (late November 2018 edition)

I started this blog to focus on aerial wildland firefighting. As regular readers know, I delve into related issues. But today I want to get back to tankers and helicopters working wildfires. To that end I have a few videos that I want to embed here to share with you. Before I do, I want to acknowledge that I need to rewrite my airtankers 101 page, something that I will work on over the next several weeks. Please be patient as I revise that page.

Now to the videos. In this first video, you will see a few different types of airtankers working wildfires. I believe that among the airtankers you will see in this video are: Neptune Aviation BAe-146, Global Supertanker 747, Aero Air MD-87, Canadair CL-415 Scooper, and 10 Tanker DC-10.


Direct link to video

In this video you will see the Contra Costa County Sheriff's STARR1 helicopter working a wildfire.


Direct link to video

Los Angeles County Fire Department Helicopter, Copter 14, working a brush fire in Los Angeles County California area on or about October 14, 2018.


Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 23rd) Camp & Woolsey Fires

The Woolsey Fire burned 99.949 acres and is at 100 percent containment. Three firefighters were injured and 3 civilians died. 1,500 structures were destroyed and 341 were damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

As I write this, here are the stats for the Camp Fire:

• 153,336 acres burned, at 95 percent containment. 
• 13,672 single residences destroyed, 465 single residences damaged, 282 multiple residences destroyed, 514 commercial structures destroyed, 105 commercial structures damaged, 4,265 minor structures destroyed.
• Three firefighter injuries.
• 84 civilian fatalities to date.
• cause under investigation.

In the last couple of days, it rained in the area of the Camp Fire which helped firefighters to contain the fire.  Perhaps the rain has hampered or slowed down the search and rescue efforts as the search for the missing continues and the death count climbs.

I saw this video on the Sacamento Bee the other day and wanted to share it with you. In this five minute video you will hear Cheryl talk about how she survived the Camp Fire with her cat. She was rescued two days after the fire broke out.

Direct link to Sacramento Bee story and video

Thanksgiving wishes and remembrances

On the eve of this Thanksgiving holiday in America:

• For all who are traveling, I wish you safe travels.
• For those of you spending the holiday with your family and/or friends, enjoy the moment.
• For wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air working wildfires this holiday weekend, you are away from your families. Stay safe and thank-you.
• More and more people are working this weekend, perhaps in hospitals or police fire and ambulance service. the National Weather Service is a 24/7 operation, some will be on shift on Thanksgiving. Others in retail or other service positions. Hopefully if you celebrate Thanksgiving, you celebrate before or after work. Know that your work is appreciated.
• Thank-you to all of you in the military who are away from your family and friends overseas. Thank-you for your sacrifice and your service.

I am aware that for many there is little to be thankful for. For some it is because you are alone and have no place to go. Thousands of you have had your homes burned in wildfires, some of you are with your families, and others of you are in shelters or camps. Hundreds if not thousands of you have been affected by recent typhoons and hurricanes and your home may be completely destroyed or not habitable, perhaps you are still in a shelter or camp or making do the best you can on your property

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 19th)

Woolsey Fire (Thousand Oaks CA): 3 dead, 1,500 structures destroyed As I write this this 96,649 acre fire is at 94 percent containment,

Camp Fire (Paradise CA):As I write this, 77 people are dead, several hundred are missing, 11,713 homes destroyed, 277 multiples residences destroyed472 commercial buildings destroyed. The fire has burned 150,000 acres to date and is at 65 percent containment. Helicopters are working the fire in support of wildland firefighters on the ground. Search and rescue crews continue to search for the missing.

NPR report on the fires (November 19th)

To make matters even more uncomfortable for those who are homeless after the Camp Fire, there are outbreaks of the Noro Virus (aka stomach flu) at some of the shelters.


Direct link to video

Like a lot of people, I think about the residents of Paradise CA everyday, often multiple times a day as well as all the firefighters, search and rescue teams, and those supporting those who are homeless and perhaps sick from the Noro Virus.

I offer these videos as an act of remembrance for all those who have lost homes, have missing loved ones, whose loved ones have died, search and rescue teams, those supporting the victims of the fire, and all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air. The first video is a video report from ABC News on or about November 13th reporting on survivors of the Camp and Woolsey Fires.The second video (from the Sacramento Bee)below may be a little hard to look at, they are describing how search and rescue teams look for human remains, The third video, also from the Sacramento Bee is an authorized drone fly over of Paradise CA on or about November 13th


Direct link  to video from ABC News (November 13th)


Direct link to video from Sacramento Bee (November 16th)



Direct link to video from the Sacramento Bee (November 13th)

SEAT footage from the cockpit (2015)

Enjoy this footage from the cockpit of a Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) shot from the cockpit while working the 2015 Windy Ridge Fire on August 12, 2015. This footage was uploaded to Youtube by the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon (BLMOregon).


Direct link to video from BLMOregon on Youtube

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (Nov 13th update)

Here is a CBS news report uploaded to Youtube on November. So, I assume that the information in the video is current as of November 13th. A CBS Meteorologist discusses how the weather is affecting the current wildfires burning in California, ending with a discussion on climate change. The video is about seven minutes long.

My thoughts and meditations are with all those affected by the wildfires. Condolences for the loved ones of those who have died. Thanks to all the wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air who are working hard in awful conditions to fight these wildfires.

Latest information from CAL FIRE
Camp Fire
Woolsey Fire
Hill Fire


Direct link to video on Youtube

2018 wildfire season: California wildfires (November)

At least 25 people dead, 23 from the Camp Fire and 2 from the Woolsey Fire.

Link to interactive map of the current Califonia Wildfires from CAL FIRE

2018 wildfire season: Camp Fire (Paradise CA)

The Camp Fire, one of three large wildfires burning in California. was first reported on Thursday, November 9th. Over 6,400 homes destroyed. At least 9 people are dead, 35 are missing. It has burned about 90,000 acres and is at 5 percent containmentSome of the deaths were people in their cars trying to evacuate this very fast moving fire. In however you reflect on these tragedies, please pause for a few minutes to remember the dead. And to remember the wildland firefighters on the ground working to fight this fire, that they be safe.

RIP, may you always fly in favorable tail winds.



Direct link to video from KPIX SF Bay Area

The Washington Post has some stunning photos from the Camp Fire and other fires burning in California

This just in, according to the Washington Post, the death toll in the wildfires burning in California is now 11.

Those of you who are interested in knowing more about the three wildfires burning in California, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today is covering the fire, his latest article on the Camp Fire may be found here, and he also reported on the Woolsey Fire and an earlier article on the Hill and Woolsey Fires

2018 fire season: Midewin Hotshots

Enjoy this video by the Midewin Hotshots highlighting thier 2018 fire season.


Direct link to video by Midewin Hotshots

Reflections on learning about aerial firefighting almost 10 years ago

After  i wrote about P-2 Neptune tankers the other day, I spent some time reflecting on first learning about the business of aerial firefighting nine and ten years ago. I am eternally grateful to some now good friends who helped me learn about the business. I spent a lot of time watching live stream coverage of some of the larger wildfires that were burning in southern California in mid to late 2009. A couple of times, I was watching the live stream as I was exchanging e-mails with one of my former tanker pilot friends. He would share a little about what was going on. I enjoyed seeing the tankers and helos in action, working to help the wildland firefighters on the ground. As they say, one picture is worth a thousand words. The video that I am sharing below is from Alan Simmons of Firestorm HD Production. He uploaded the video to Youtube in April 2010. I believe that at least some of the fire footage is from 2009, perhaps there is footage of some of the wildfires that I was following in 2009. Alan’s footage is a highlight video from a longer DVD that he put out, go here for more information on the video that is available for purchase only. 

I love watching videos like Alan’s of tankers working a wildfire. Elegance in action. What they do is very dangerous. Please remember that if it is very windy or the smoke is very bad tankers and helicopters may not be flying the fire because it is not safe to do so.

The video from Alan Simmons that I have embedded below has about eight minutes of highlights from his 80 minute video. In the first half, you will see footage of the S-2T, P-2 Neptunes, P-3 Orion, Canadair 215/415, and the DC-10. The final three or four minutes includes footage from 1999 of now historic tankers including some footage of T-123 which crashed in 2002.

Direct link to video from Alan Simmons on Youtube

Remembering P-2 Neptune Tankers, retired but not forgotten

The last of Neptune Aviation's Lockheed P-2 Neptune tankers were retired in the fall of 2017. When I began this blog on aerial wildland firefighting in late 2008, I learned about what tankers can do through seeing videos, photographs and some livestream of you and your cousin, Aero Unions Lockheed P-3 Orions fly fires.

You and your crew worked hard over the years, you saved a lot of lives. We lost some of you and your crew -- T-11 T-42, T-9, T-4, T-8 -- your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.

We lost Minden Air T-99. Minden Air T-55 and T-48 were both damaged in an incident, the crew survived. All were Lockheed P-2 Neptunes

These three videos by scorched sky productions honor the service of Neptune Aviation's Lockheed P-2 Neptune tankers.

It is my loss that I never had the privilege of seeing any of you in person while you were in service flying fires. Some of you are at air museums, perhaps I'll see you there.


Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production


Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production



Direct link to video by Scroched Sky Production

2018 fire season: Redmond Hotshots

Yesterday I shared a 2016 video about the Redmond (OR) Air Center. The Redmond Interagency Hotshots are based at the Redmond Air Center. I hope you enjoy their 2018 crew video summarizing their 2018 fire season.


direct link to video on Youtube

About Redmond (OR) Air Center

Enjoy this 2016 video by the US Forest Service about the Air Center in Redmond Oregon. In this four minute video you will get a brief overview of the various wildfire services based at Redmond: hotshots, smoke jumpers, air tankers, cache, and a training center


direct link to Youtube video by the US Forest Service