Columbia Helicopter arrives at Big Horn Fire

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Columbia Helicopter arrives at Big Horn Fire

Columbia Helicopters Sends Aircraft to Fight Southern California Fire

California-Oregon-Columbia Helicopters-fire

Columbia Helicopter N185CH
Credit: Robert O'Connor - Cal Fire News

An aircraft belonging to Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters should be arriving in Ontario this afternoon, prepared to assist in fighting the Big Horn Fire. The fire is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Ontario.

This is the second aircraft deployed by Columbia Helicopters to fight wildland fires in just two days. Yesterday, the heavy-lift helicopter company sent an aircraft from New Mexico to Florida to assist in fighting the Osceola Complex of fires near Lake City, Florida.

The helicopter on it's way to Southern California has most recently been working on a logging project east of Chico, California. Members of the helicopter's maintenance crew are following the aircraft, driving a small convoy of vehicles, including the maintenance service van and fuel truck. Additional flight and maintenance crewmembers are being added so that no pilot, mechanic or driver works more than federal or state regulationsallow. The total crew size is expected to be 12-15 people.

This aircraft is a Columbia 107-II helicopter with a lifting capacity of approximately 10,000-pounds. The aircraft is equipped with an 1,100 gallon bucket, which the pilots can use to drop water or retardant on the fire.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Wednesday, May 14, 2008