#USFS: Will allow Los Angeles County helicopters for night #wildfire firefighting

Friday, April 29, 2011

#USFS: Will allow Los Angeles County helicopters for night #wildfire firefighting

In a report they issued on November 18, the LA County Fire Department criticized the USFS for not using helicopters at night during the early stages of the August-September 160,000-acre Station Fire near Los Angeles that killed two LA County firefighters.

Now if another wildfire strikes the Angeles National Forest, it will be easier to get water-dropping helicopters into the air at night to slow the blaze.

Wally Skalij photo. August 27, 2009.

That’s what U.S. Forest Service officials say, as the agency faces pressure to avoid a repeat of the 2009 Station Fire that burned 250 square miles, killed two firefighters and destroyed 89 homes.

Deputy Forest Supervisor Marty Dumpis said Thursday an agreement with local firefighters will make it easier to summon Los Angeles County helicopters for night firefighting in the huge forest on the edge of Los Angeles.

The Forest Service is considering allowing its own helicopters to attack wildfires at night, but the agency has long discouraged the practice because of risks to pilots. That policy is under review.

The USFS experimented with night flying in the 1970s, but abandoned it after a helicopter collision and since then has said it is too dangerous to fly helicopters 30 minutes after sunset.
Info Source article: CBSLocal - Link

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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).

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Friday, April 29, 2011