Air units active in southern U.S. areas

PHOTOS PAUL M. ROSS JR. Orion airtankers from Chico, Calif.-based Aero Union Corp., as well as several other aircraft, fought lateseason fires in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana and other parts of the South.

The 2005 fire season extended into late fall and winter across much of the southern United States, with winds and dry conditions fueling wildfires in Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana and other parts of Dixie. As part of the response to the fires, airtanker and helicopter pilots flew long hours during a time of year when most pursue non-fire missions. Several helitack crews from the western United States worked extended assignments in the South, given the fire danger. "It's been a very late season for us, and we are already just around the corner from Florida's main fire season," says the Southern Area Coordination Center's J.P. Greene. "We're continually evaluating indices and monitoring weather trends to anticipate future fire danger. This allows us to ramp up our firefighting resources ahead of the activity."

Aircraft Coordinator George Battaglia reports airtankers and helicopters worked fires in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas in November, December and January. "We've had four heavy airtankers in the Southern Area, dropping retardant on the fires in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky," he says. "For the first time in a while, tankers have worked in Oklahoma. Those aircraft, Tankers 11 and 25, have operated out of the Fort Smith, Ark., airtanker base." Tankers also flew from the Knoxville, Tenn., airtanker base, and the Southern Area operated a mobile retardant base (one of two agency-owned units in the South) in Meridian, Miss.

Battaglia says air-attack and lead planes from around the nation worked recently in the South; Greg House flew Lead 6-5 (the first number indicates the U.S. Forest Service region in which the plane is based), and Southern Area lead-plane pilot Rick Gicla flew long hours in Lead 8-8.

"Usually by the beginning of December, we're out of the woods for fire danger, but the multi-year drought conditions in parts of the South are prolonging activity," adds Battaglia. "With the hurricane debris, Mississippi's fire potential is huge; the region is very concerned and plans to be ready for whatever happens." Crews from Utah's Wasatch-Cache/Ogden Helitack and Washington's Wenatchee Helitack, as well as an Idaho crew, operated in parts of the region, including Lufkin, Texas.

Chris Peterson, acting fire management officer for the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF), says crews worked through Thanksgiving. "We had 10 fires [that burned more than] 2,500 acres in the last week of November, and we used Tanker 9, a P2V Neptune, on the 23rd and 24th. We are still picking up some initial-attack activity ahead of a weather system moving in."

Pilot Jon Bourke flew a Bell 407 up to Kentucky's Big Swag Helibase during the last week of November to assist with fires on the DBNF's Redbird District near Somerset. "I was dropping water until sunset yesterday, more than 3,000 gallons, and this is day three," says Bourke during a break in flight operations. "Historically, we have always[fought] fires in Kentucky this time of year."

Aircraft and crews from Helicopter Express provided hurricane relief flights last fall; operations continued into early winter.

Helicopter Express Responds to Hurricanes
Longtime fire helicopter operator Helicopter Express Inc., based in Lawrenceville, Ga., switched gears from firefighting to disaster response in the days and months following hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The company flew a variety of missions, according to President Scott Runyan, applying many of the same aspects inherent in summer wildfire aviation operations to hurricane aviation missions.

Helicopter Express has worked in the hurricane zone since the day after Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Runyan says his firm sees continued demand for aerial support.

"Because of our location, FEMA found us right away in their search for assistance," he explains. "We had a lot of equipment available there given the end of the fire season, so they asked us to respond to the hurricane areas. Last year, we worked quite a bit with FEMA following the hurricanes that hit Florida, and had a good experience."

Presently, Helicopter Express has three aircraft in Mississippi and one in Louisiana that perform damage assessments and other aerial survey work for FEMA. At the height of the operation, Runyan says up to 12 helicopters operated in the damage zone. "It's been a big part of our 2005 business mix," he says. "In the first few days, we flew nearly any type of mission—search and rescue, emergency medical, cargo and personnel. Now it's winding down somewhat, but we were extremely busy for over two months in the hurricane zone."

Drawing on its heavy involvement and experience in remote forest-fire operations, the company set up and ran a stand-alone helibase at the Jackson, Miss., airport, bringing in its communications trailer normally contracted in the western U.S. on large fire operations. "We interfaced with other operators to bring in additional aircraft for FEMA and operated out of that helibase," says Runyan. "It was run in similar fashion to fire helibases, with morning briefings, mission planning and logistical support at the helibase."

Jon Bourke, who also spent considerable time flying in the damage zones, witnessed the storm's impact. "Things were wasted on the Mississippi gulf coast where there had been a storm surge estimated at 40 feet," he says. "Within one-quarter mile of the shore, everything is gone as a result of that wall of water. From New Orleans to Pascagoula, Miss., there are massive debris piles and miles of devastation."

Several aircraft normally based in the West on federal wildland firefighting contracts responded, including Helicopter Express' Bridgeport, Calif., fire helicopter, which operated in Lufkin, Texas, following Hurricane Rita. 

Ruling Says Retardant Use Violated Laws
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) violated environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, when it failed to follow a public process to consider the dangers of fire-retardant drops that killed thousands of fish, according to a recent ruling by a judge.

The USFS' decision not to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the dangers of using toxic fire retardant "appears to be a political decision," District Judge Donald W. Molloy in Missoula, Mont., wrote in the decision released in late October. Judge Molloy ordered the USFS to prepare a formal environmental analysis of the effects of fire retardant on the environment and consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the potential harm to endangered fish, but did not bar the USFS from using fire retardant until it complied.

Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, which brought the lawsuit, said the group did not ask the judge to bar the use of toxic fire retardants. Instead, the organization, based in Eugene, Ore., hopes the ruling will lead the USFS to stop fighting wildfire and start managing it as a natural part of the ecosystem.

"For 100 years, the Forest Service has fought fire rather than managed it," says Stahl. "[This is] a wake-up call to say, ‘Hey, you've got to look at the big picture.' There are alternatives, and we need to get smarter about fire."

Stahl compared the impact of the ruling to those protecting habitat for the northern spotted owl, which forced the USFS to drastically reduce logging to protect habitat for hundreds of species, not just the owl. USFS spokeswoman Heidi Valetkevitch says the agency was reviewing the ruling, but as a matter of policy did not comment on legal matters.

Stahl's organization filed the lawsuit in 2003, one year after 1,000–2,000 lbs. of toxic retardant were dropped in Fall Creek in central Oregon, killing more than 20,000 fish in six miles of the stream. Unknown numbers of fish died as the poison flowed into the Deschutes River.

Judge Molloy found that the USFS uses an average of 15 million gallons of retardant a year, and in some years up to 40 million gallons, as it supplies planes under contract around the country to fight fire. From August 2001 through December 2002, retardant was dropped in water inhabited by endangered species eight times, six of them on national forest lands.

Molloy rejected the USFS' argument that using fire retardant was not a major federal action but a series of smaller actions by fire commanders with no time to do a full environmental analysis.

"All evidence suggests that the USFS was told by other agencies to consult the NEPA on fire retardant issues," the judge wrote. "The decision not to involve the NEPA appears to be a political decision. The only reason the USFS has provided for not applying the NEPA is that there was no proposal for a major federal action. This is not a reasonable conclusion."

During aerial firefighting operations, containment devices are typically set up around portable retardant mixing plants and tanks to prevent retardant from flowing into nearby natural water sources. These and other mitigation efforts occur on the ground, while aerial retardant application frequently occurs on ridgelines, open terrain or other areas where retardant is used in conjunction with fuels and terrain features to slow a fire's advance.

Molloy also rejected the USFS' argument for not consulting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the dangers to endangered fish. The USFS had argued that determining the types of fire retardant to use, issuing guidelines for its use, creating nationwide fire-retardant contracts and using retardant were not "programmatic activities" requiring consultation, as there is no effect on endangered species until the retardant is actually dropped.

"The emergency exception is meant for unexpected exigencies," Molloy wrote. "The use of fire retardant by the USFS is not unexpected but guaranteed."

Source: Associated Press and Wildland Firefighter reports.

Air Tractor Develops New Engine Ram Air Inlet
Air Tractor, Inc. has recently developed an Engine Ram Air Inlet for its AT-802 and AT-802A aircraft, enhancing turbine engine performance. The Ram Air Inlet sits beneath the propeller spinner and provides increased airflow to the engine, which reduces inter-turbine temperatures (ITT).  This feature will come standard on all new AT-802s and AT-802As for the 2006 model year. The new inlet system is also equipped with an alternate induction air door that can be opened in flight in case of filter blockage.

The Engine Ram Air Inlet is available as a retrofit upgrade for existing AT-802 and AT-802A aircraft with an offset engine mount.  The kit is priced at $11,500.00, and the retrofit service will be available through Air Tractor dealers around the globe.

For more information about the new AT-802 Engine Ram Air Inlet, or for the nearest authorized Air Tractor dealer, contact Air Tractor, Inc. at 940/564-5616.  You may also access additional information at the company's Web site, www.airtractor.com.

Updates on Fire Aviation Folks… PHOTO COURTESY U.S. FOREST SERVICE After three decades fighting wildfires in the remote reaches of the Mountain West, Sawtooth National Forest Helitack Superintendent Larry Lofswold has hung up his flight helmet for good. Lofswold retired from the U.S. Forest Service last November after spending his career overseeing operations of a firefighting helicopter crew in Hailey, Idaho. "My first experience with firefighting was in 1975, leading a 10-person fire crew handling both brush disposal and initial-attack responses," recalls Lofswold. "The Forest Service was getting into turbine-engine helicopters, and there was an opportunity for me in 1976 to be part of a six-man crew staffing a Bell B2 JetRanger fire helo based in Hailey." The first pilot he worked with was Vern Haney, who flew Lofswold and crew to fires in a response area ranging in elevation from 4,000 feet in southern Idaho's Shoshone Bureau of Land Management zone to 11,000-foot Sheep Mountain in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains. Fuel types in the response area vary from range with grass and sage to heavy timber. "We used to have more fun, but it's still a good job," says Lofswold. "Our aircraft have always been Bell products — B2 and B3 JetRangers, and now a 206L4 Longranger, which is very strong at our high elevations. Any job where the government lets you fly around in a helicopter in the mountains and fight fire is something to enjoy." Over the years, Lofswold also implemented a rappel program with longtime crewman Gene Hodges. In Lofswold's final season, fire activity sent the Hailey helitack team traveling to fires on nearby Payette and Targhee national forests, as well as the massive Clover Fire in the Snake River Plain, a blaze that "really screamed across the desert," according to Lofswold. Idaho forests experienced one more major blaze essentially in Lofswold's backyard in late summer, as the Valley Road Fire erupted in early September on the Sawtooth National Forest, burning more than 40,000 acres and requiring long flight hours from the helitack crew. In his 28th year as a ski patroller at nearby Sun Valley Ski Resort, Lofswold plans to spend more time fishing, hiking and hunting, but will miss his vocation. "I always liked working in the woods and fighting fire," he recalls. "Any time you don't have to fly a desk, it's a good thing. You never really get tired of helitack firefighting."

Send your Fire Aviation News via phone or e-mail to Paul M. Ross, Jr., Wildland Firefighter Magazine, at 208/861-1340 or prossjr@yahoo.com.

Paul M. Ross, Jr. is a firefighter/EMT/helitack squad leader and professional writer with 14 years of experience in both Western U.S. wildland firefighting and urban fire-rescue. He lives in St. Louis, Mo., where he is a firefighter/EMT for the Eureka Fire Protection District. Contact him at prossjr@yahoo.com.