U.S. Is Urged to Change Its Firefighting Air Fleet

[dadbo46 50]

From today's NY Times:

U.S. Is Urged to Change Its Firefighting Air Fleet

WASHINGTON — The best aircraft to fight the growing number of Western wildfires would be dozens of modern “scooper” planes that fill their bellies with water skimmed in seconds from a lake or river, and not the slower helicopters and tankers now in use, according to a study released on Monday by the RAND Corporation. But the chief of the federal Forest Service, which commissioned the study, has rejected its central finding.

http://www.nytimes.c...dit_th_20120730

[efdcapt115 1,511]

How about a scooper plane outfitted with a CAFS injector? A system that injects foam into the scooped water giving it the penetration it needs to be more effective. How about a lower drop altitude? Interesting article.

[shipwright 4]

Being West-Coast based, and associated with this kind of suppression, beyond friends and family working the line, I found literature that looks deeper into the wild land firefighter's psyche and tactics.

The question of altitude over, and substance dropped upon wilderness fires is pretty exacting; scoopers with water make sense sometimes, tankers full of retardent saves lives and property other times. But it is pretty carefully calculated regarding evaporation rate, speed, volume, and viscosity. While the philosophy supporting or denigrating the fight against wildland fire is controversial ($-v-environment), the reality is that lots of young men and women jump at the chance to do so and this implies the visceral connection between urban structural FF and wilderness wildfire FF--its good work.

So, its not really my purview anymore-too old/beat up for a redcard now--but I remain interested in the folks that deploy each year.

Here are three books that look into the tactics and experiences of wildland firefighting:

Fire Bomber Into Hell (ISBN 978-1-60910-436-8--amazon): Good description of use of altitude and aerial tactics in wild land fire suppression (plus entire history of dropping stuff from planes onto forest fires).

Fireline ( ISBN 978-0-226-14408-5--amazon): Solid sociological ethnography of Western wildland FF folks and techniques. The Author did it for real and then built his PhD on the back of the experience.

Jumping Fire (ISBN 0-15-601397-5--amazon): Crazy SOB Murray Taylor who smoke jumped too long and ended up being the oldest guy to do so. Good contrast to the "Hot Shots" who are truly rugged. This guy was a dinosaur in the best sense of the word.

U-Tube: Check out Interagency "Hot Shots" too. Truly gnarly folks. Smell bad. Walk you into the ground.