Tag Archives: fire

U.S.

Red Bank & South Fire helicopter ops

Video

During the second week of September, 2019, California National Guard flew at least 290 firefighters to the Red Bank Fire and the South Fire, which are burning in rugged terrain.

Video California National Guard CH-47 Chinook ferries fire fighters to the Red Bank Fire in Tehama County:

Official video explainer of UH-60 and CH-47 operations:

Firefighters work 24 hour-shifts, here’s video of Black Hawks bringing back tired fire crews:

The UH-60s and CH-47s also played water bombers.  In just one day, 10 September, they dropped 70-thousand-974 gallons of water just on the South Fire!

Video, UH-60M water bombing:

Daily maintenance was conducted on the six California National Guard helicopters assigned to help fight the Red Bank and South fires.

IDAHO WILD FIRES 2019: MD-87 WATER BOMBER, NEW KING AIR FAC

OREGON WILDFIRES: MILITIAS LOVE IT, CH-47F AIRBORNE FIREFIGHTER!

U.S.

1942 Ford firetruck returns to service with the USAF!

Video

In March 2019, after years of restoration by a dedicated retired Airman, a 1942 Ford firetruck was returned to service at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

The truck was one of the first two firetrucks to be assigned at Seymour Johnson Field when the base opened in 1942.

2016 CHUBBUCK DAYS MASS BAPTISM BY FIRE….TRUCK!

REVELL 1937 FORD PICKUP OR WHY MODEL ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE WRONG!

11 AUGUST 2012: BUSIEST CHUBBUCK DAYS EVER! DOGS, CARS, FIRE TRUCKS

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wild Fires 2019: MD-87 water bomber, new King Air FAC

Image

23 July 2019-23:43 UTC-07 Tango 06 (02 Mordad 1398/21 Dhu l-Qa’da 1440/22 Xin-Wei 4717)

The fires keep burning in eastern Idaho.  Things got so hot today that evacuations of ‘non-essential personnel’ were ordered near the Idaho National Laboratory’s nuclear jet engine and EBR-1 nuclear-disaster-reactor,  due to the rapid expansion of the ‘Sheep Fire’ (about 85-thousand acres, 34398 hectares).

MD-87 (foreground) and DC-10 (background) tankers rolling in from their latest east Idaho mission. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

The Sheep Fire is just one of dozens of wild fires in Idaho right now so, once again, the little used Pocatello Airport was put to good use by water bombers from 10 Tanker Air Carrier and Erickson Aero Tanker.

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

A little bird water bomber heads out. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

A new U.S. Forest Service King Air 250 FAC (Forward Air Controller) taking off. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

King Air ‘FAC’: Forest Service buys its first lead plane in almost 40 years

The King Air passes by the incoming DC-10. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

A familiar sight ever since the big fires of 2012. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

Home for the night. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

WILD FIRES 2019: DC-10, IDAHO’S 911

U.S.

What happens to your pets after Paradise is destroyed by the Fires of Hell?

Video

29NOV2018 (02:34 UTC-07 Tango 06) 08 Azar 1397/20 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1440/22 Gui-Hai 4716

A volunteer with the North Valley Animal Rescue Group, cuddles a dog being housed in a temporary shelter at the municipal airport in Chico, California. California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

“As awful as this situation is, it has boosted my confidence in humanity.”-Michelle Moore, Chico State student from Texas working 12 hour shifts to save the animals

One of nearly 1800 displaced animals being cared for in shelters managed by the North Valley Animal Rescue Group. California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

The recent Camp Fire in the not-so-golden (for many reasons) U.S. state of California wiped out the town of Paradise.  Not only are thousands of people now homeless, so are an estimated 1-thousand-8-hundred pets.

Video of California National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk attempting to block Camp Fire from spreading:

Many of the now homeless cats and dogs are being housed at the Chico Municipal Airport.  Volunteers, with groups like North Valley Animal Disaster Group, are struggling to help.  Even the California National Guard is helping: “We’re unloading people’s donations and giving people donations that have been received. We give people the right directions if their animal is lost, or if their animal is here and they want to visit them. It’s good to show your support and help them the best way you can. It gives me pride and joy…to help them with whatever they need.”-Specialist Mark Maynard, California Army National Guard

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

Pallets full of pet food, piles of dog beds, and boxes of leashes and toys have arrived at the airport, and there’s a steady stream of people driving up to donate what they can.

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 18NOV2018.

Because of the fires the Chico Municipal Airport is not open to normal air traffic, so it was picked to be a temporary animal shelter.  Many of the unpaid volunteers work 12 hours at a time. National Guard Military Police patrol the airport at night so the volunteers can take a break.

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 28NOV2018.

The lost pets are brought in by fire fighters, utility workers, or the pets are there because their owners are also now homeless.   But there are reunions between lost pets and owners as well.  Other organizations working to save the pets of Paradise are Butte County Animal Control, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the California Veterinary Medical Reserve Corp: “This effort is just so huge. It’s a rare and extraordinary thing. It takes all of us to get things done.”-Norm Rosene, North Valley Animal Disaster Group

California Army National Guard photo by Specialist Amy Carle, 28NOV2018.

The California Army National Guard, along with the USDA Veterinary Services, also assisted livestock owners.

 

 FREE SHOTS FOR PUERTO RICO PETS!

HARVEY: WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR PETS?

LOUISIANA MILITIA RESCUES FLOOD VICTIMS & THEIR PETS!

U.S. COAST GUARD: WHAT HAPPENS TO COWS ABANDONED IN FLOODED TOWNS?

HAWAIIAN COWS BOMBED BY FUKUSHIMA RADIATION! 

FUKUSHIMA TO EUTHANIZE ABANDONED LIVESTOCK AND PETS!

FOOD CRISIS: HALF MILLION LIVESTOCK STARVING TO DEATH IN JAPAN!

JAPANESE BREAK INTO 20KM EVACUATION ZONE TO BRING YOU VIDEO OF LIVESTOCK & PETS LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES!

U.S.

California fires make at least 1-million tons of waste!

Image

14FEB2018 (02:43 UTC-07 Tango 06)  25 Bahman 1396/28 Jumada l-Ula 1439/29 Ren-Yin 4715

Mother Earth has yet again rendered human efforts to stop climate change impotent.  Not only did the October 2017 Northern California wildfires pump massive particulate matter into the atmosphere, but at least 1-million tons of waste was created on the ground!

Fire clean-up in Santa Rosa, California, 02FEB2018

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the California Office of Emergency Services report that so far more than 1-million tons of debris has been removed from Sonoma County.

Sonoma County is known for its wine.  1-million tons is equal to four million barrels of wine, or 200-thousand acres (about 81-thousand hectares) of vines.

But 1-million tons is just the beginning, the October 2017 wildfires affected Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties.  And don’t forget all the other California fires in 2017.

You silly humans, spending your precious tax dollars trying to stop climate change!  Evolution says ‘adapt or go extinct’!

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE ACTIVITY STRIKES IDAHO? VOLCANOES JUST DESTROYED ALL HUMAN ATTEMPTS TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE! GET READY FOR CASCADIA!

Technology

Oregon Wildfires: Militias love it, CH-47F airborne firefighter!

Image

20 SEP 2017 /20:16 UTC-07 Tango 06 (30 Sharivar 1396/29 Dhu l-Hijja 1438/02 Ji-Yu 4715)

“We love doing this. This is our favorite part of the year!   …..We run a great risk in this, if there’s an up-draft of heat, or a down-draft, we have to be able to be ‘Johnny-on-the-spot’ to keep us in the air. There’s a lot more challenge in it, risk versus reward. It’s super rewarding when we are combating open flame all day long.”-Sergeant Joseph Ford, Oregon National Guard

Oregon Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment has dropped more than 4.5-million liters (1.2-million U.S. gallons) of water using three of their new CH-47 F-model Chinooks, in the past month and a half.

“Where else can you go where you get to do this? I have the coolest job in the world! One morning I’m at my home station, and later that afternoon I’m 5-hundred-miles away, supporting a state mission and dropping buckets of water. I get a lot of satisfaction doing these state missions.”-Sergeant Jeremy Maddox

“Those Air Attack guys have been doing this often for 20-to-30 years to get to this level, they know the big picture…we can’t put the fire out completely, but what we can do is help control it, and keep it from spreading certain directions.”-Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Brannen

“There is a lot of helicopter on the Chinooks back here (behind the flight deck or cockpit), that the pilots can’t see. Our job is to paint a picture for them, a mental picture they can’t see, so they know and feel comfortable with what we’re going into. It takes a lot of trust in the back-seaters from the pilots. It’s a team effort. Without one, the job can’t be accomplished.”-Sergeant Jeremy Maddox

MONTANA, OREGON & WASHINGTON NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOY TO FIGHT WILDFIRES!

KIT BASHING: SPECIAL OPS BOEING MH-47 CHINOOK, POCATELLO AIRPORT

U.S.

Montana, Oregon & Washington National Guard deploy to fight wildfires!

Video

“The western fires are not stopping. They’re just getting bigger.”-James Casaus, Incident Commander

“If we don’t start managing our forests, the forests are going to start managing us. The fires burning across Montana are a catastrophe, and we need all available resources to combat this threat.”-Steve Daines, senator for Montana

On 13 SEP 2017, Montana’s Air National Guard deployed to fight at least 21 wildfires in The Treasure State.

Montana has so far spent $50-million USD in state taxpayer funding fighting fires!

NBCMontana: Wildfire update, 14 SEP 2017

On 09 SEP 2017, the Oregon National Guard continued another round of firefighting training conducted by the state Department of Public Safety.  So far five groups of Oregon National Guard personnel have gone through the training.  Oregon has so far spent 28-million state taxpayer dollars fighting 18 wildfires.

U.S. Army personnel chow down after helping to fight fires in Oregon, 10 SEP 2017

So far, the U.S. Forest Service has spent a record 2.1-billion federal tax dollars fighting wildfires across the western United States!

Video, Washington National Guard firefighting ‘mop-up’ ops 09 SEP 2017:

IDAHO CONDUCTS MASSIVE MAFFS TRAINING, IN PREPS FOR HOT WILDFIRE SEASON!

MAFFS : WILDFIRE SEASON 2018 GOING TO BE A HOT ONE!

Idaho, Technology, U.S.

Smoke ’em if you got ’em!: Pocatello Airport Fire Bombers are Back!

Image

06 AUG 2017 (03:39 UTC-07 Tango 06)  15 Mordad 1396/13 Dhu l-Qa’da 1438/15 Wu-Shen 4715

The sky around eastern Idaho is socked in with smoke as the 2017-18 wildfire season roars up (I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so smokey around here, and I’ve been here 20 years).  The water bombing aircraft based at Pocatello Airport were busy during daylight; non-stop landings, reloading, take-offs, for hours on-end until dark.

Photos by AAron B. Hutchins. Click pics to make bigger:

April 2017: MAFFS BOMBS IDAHO!

At the end of  2016 U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense warning: WILDFIRE SEASON 2018 GOING TO BE A HOT ONE!

BOISE FIRE UPDATE: CHUBBUCK ALLSTATE ALREADY HIT WITH FIRE CLAIMS!

U.S. WILDFIRES 2016: DC-10 POCATELLO AIRPORT

2015: IDAHO WILDFIRES KILL WOMAN

IDAHO’S 13+ YEARS OF DROUGHT ADD UP TO BIG ASS WILDFIRE SEASON FOR 2014!  (didn’t happen)

2013: POCATELLO, IDAHO, CHARLOTTE FIRE 2?

POCATELLO AIRPORT, 2012 IDAHO WILDFIRES: CANADAIR CL 215

IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 20 SEPTEMBER 2012: ANOTHER SMOKEY DAY, STILL LEADING THE NATION WITH MOST FIRES

IDAHO WILDFIRES, POCATELLO TANKER BASE: 13 SEPTEMBER 2012, SIKORSKY & USMC IN TOWN

EAST IDAHO WILDFIRE 2012: BUSY 30 MINUTES AT POCATELLO AIRPORT, AS FIRE FIGHTING AIRCRAFT FLY INTO ACTION

POCATELLO CHARLOTTE FIRE UPDATE: 100% CONTAINED, FIREWORKS FOR 4TH OF JULY, SEED FOR REBUILDING COMMUNITY!

June 2012: POCATELLO BURNING! EVACUATIONS!

Idaho

2016 Chubbuck Days mass baptism by Fire….Truck!

Image

13 August 2016 /19:35 UTC-07 Tango 01 (24 Mordad 1395/10 Dhu I-Qa’da 1437/12 Bing-Shen 4714)

Some long time attendees of the annual Chubbuck Days at Cotant Park were wondering where the Chubbuck Fire Department was, after all it’s tradition for the Fire Department to cool down the crowd with some artificial rain.  Just like the cavalry, the Fire Department showed up at the last minute, to the excitement of all the children present (click the pics to make bigger, photos by AAron B. Hutchins):

CHUBBUCK DAYS COTANT PARK 2016:  CAR SHOW & HELICOPTER FORCED LANDING

Idaho

Boise Fire update: 2500 acres, still burning

30 June 2016 (12:54 UTC-07 Tango 01) 10 Tir 1395/24 Ramadan 1437/26 Jia-Wu 4714

Fire investigators now consider the illegal use of fireworks as the cause of a fire that’s now burned more than 1-thousand and 12 hectares (2-thousand 5-hundred acres).

The ‘Table Rock’ fire started about midnight, near the Wild Horse subdivision, but stopped short of the Harris Ranch residential subdivision.  As soon as daylight came airstrikes were launched by water dropping helicopters, R/C drones should not be flown in the affected area.  The fire departments of Eagle, Meridian, Star and Boise, along with federal Bureau of Land Management, confronted the blaze.  The fire is 60% contained.