ANF USFS Resumes Plane and Helicopter Night-Flying out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California. #CaFire

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

ANF USFS Resumes Plane and Helicopter Night-Flying out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California. #CaFire

A fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter deployed this week to fight fires across the Los Angeles region. The helicopter will be used for dropping water and flame-retardant on fires but the U.S. Forest Service plans to eventually use it for EMS transport and aerial management as well.

Since August 2012, the Forest Service has conducted training of its pilots, crew and support staff for night-flying, and the process is now complete. Starting this week, the agency will finally begin employing a helicopter at night in order to battle blazes across the Los Angeles area. The helicopter and its crew will be based out of Fox Field in Lancaster, California.

Rep. Schiff and Senator Feinstein Announce Critical New U.S. Forest Service Tool to Battle Wildfires – Night-Flying Helicopter

Los Angeles, CA – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced the U.S. Forest Service now has available a specifically equipped helicopter to combat wildfires at night. Four years ago, during the Station Fire – the largest wildfire in Los Angeles county history – the potentially critical night flying tool was not available to the Forest Service. As a result, questions remain as to whether such a capability might have helped contain the fire on the critical first night of the fire. Due to a restriction put in place by the Forest Service in the 1970s following a tragic helicopter crash in the Angeles National Forest, the agency has not employed night flights, and instead, has relied upon other local agencies to supply these firefighting tools when available.

After the Station Fire, Schiff and other legislators requested that Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the federal response. That report indicated that the use of night-flying aircraft may have allowed the Forest Service to suppress the Station Fire on the critical first night and concluded that the Forest Service both failed to use all potentially available aircraft early in the blaze and needed to develop a strategy for when night missions should be flown. In response to the report and Station Fire, the agency took steps to expand night flying, including the use of turbine-powered single-engine night-flying aircraft, including helicopters, which had previously been prohibited.

“We will never know for certain if night flying could have extinguished the Station Fire in those critical early hours, but adding this capability will give us a better chance in future wildfires to protect residents’ houses, precious natural resources and, most importantly, lives,” said Rep. Adam Schiff. “The restoration of this capability by the Forest Service – though long overdue – could not come at a more critical time, with one wildfire burning across Southern California and more expected throughout the summer. Also, sequestration will mean that 200,000 fewer acres are treated with hazardous fuel mitigation and will be even more vulnerable to fire”

“With California suffering through a severe drought, this year’s wildfire season could be especially dangerous,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein. “That’s why I told Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell at a recent Senate hearing that he must make every firefighting resource available. Attacking wildfires at night from the air—when temperatures and winds are down and humidity is up—is an important tool, so resumption of Forest Service flights comes not a moment too soon. As California grows hotter and dryer, we must make every effort to quickly contain wildfires, and nighttime aerial firefighting is a big part of that effort.”

Other agencies, including Los Angeles City and County fire departments, and agencies in San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern Counties, have employed night flying tactics to great success and routinely use aircraft to douse flames at night, including the use of helicopters and planes.

“The re-introduction of Forest Service night helicopter firefighting operations in Southern California further establishes the agency’s commitment to protect lives and property in the region,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “California has already experienced wildfires this season, and is projected to continue to have a challenging summer. Night flying operations will provide an aggressive agency initial attack while better ensuring public safety, minimizing overall fire costs and lessening impacts to communities.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

General Wm. J. Fox Airfield

Fox Field (February 2008)
IATA: WJF – ICAO: KWJF – FAA LID: WJF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		County of Los Angeles
Serves		Lancaster, California
Elevation AMSL		2,351 ft / 717 m
Coordinates		34°44′28″N118°13′07″WCoordinates: 34°44′28″N 118°13′07″W
Map
WJF Location of airport in California
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
6/24	7,201	2,195	Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations			81,851
Based aircraft			157
Source: Federal Aviation Administration^[1]

General William J. Fox Airfield (IATA: WJF, ICAO: KWJF, FAA LID: WJF) is a county owned, public use airport in Los Angeles County, California, United States.^[1] It is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) northwest of the central business district of Lancaster, California.^[1] Locally known as Fox Field, the airport serves the Antelope Valley region of northern Los Angeles County.

---------------------------------------------

Sources:

http://schiff.house.gov/press-releases/rep-schiff-and-senator-feinstein-announce-critical-new-us-forest-service-tool-to-battle-wildfires-nightflying-helicopter/

http://www.kcet.org/news/stories/forest-service-enlisting-night-flying-helicopter-to-fight-fires.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_William_J._Fox_Airfield

CFN - California Fire News 2013

No comments:

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, June 5, 2013