Fighting Wildfire From The Air

The Coeur d'Alene Wildland Fire Center played a major role in the efforts to control and suppress wildfires in our region last year. Located at the Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field, the Center consists of Interagency Dispatch, Aviation Operations and Airtanker Base.

The Airtanker Base, which has been in operation since 1961, was so busy last year that a second, temporary fire retardant distribution ramp had to be built to accommodate loading the various airtankers utilizing the base, including Canadian and Alaskan airtankers.

Long time Idaho Panhandle National Forests employee, H. “Bud” McConnaughey, the Interagency Aviation Officer for the Forest and Airtanker Base, has seen a lot of changes over the years. Bud manages all aviation operations for the Colville National Forest, Bureau of Land Management Coeur d'Alene District and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. He graciously took a break from his very busy schedule to talk with me about the Airtanker Base and reflect on his 42 years of service.

When I asked Bud about the biggest changes he’s seen in his 42 years he said, "Training, qualifications, fitness and technology. Today's firefighters are very, very fit, and are more knowledgeable, more experienced, and highly qualified for their job. Technology has changed exponentially. Modern GPS, iPads with map apps and smartphones allow pilots and firefighters to pinpoint a smoke or fire with exceptional accuracy just by touching a screen. And our updated aircraft have made a tremendous difference."

Firefighters have exceptional endurance and fitness; they must be able to carry 45 pounds three miles in 45 minutes and have the ability to maintain focus during emergency situations in adverse conditions for extended periods of time. They must complete a long list of training requirements and experience, which includes extensive practical application and knowledge about fire behavior, equipment, technology and safety.

Transporting firefighting crews and equipment, as well as managing air tankers, is a highly complex and choreographed effort by interagency aviation specialists. Several types of helicopters are used for wildfire suppression from the huge Boeing 234 Chinook, used for water drops and to ferry crews, to the smaller, faster ships like the Bell 407. Smaller ships are typically used for reconnaissance and mapping but can also be employed for initial attack and water drops. Last year a couple of mid-size ships, a Bell 212HP and an A-Star B3, were commonly seen in the sky around the Panhandle as they ferried helitack crews to fight fires.

Helicopters are an essential tool for fighting wildfires, but the iconic aircraft are the airtankers and amphibious scoopers (planes that scoop water from lakes and rivers). In the early 1900s, aerial firefighting consisted of dropping wax paper sacks or wooden barrels full of water from planes; these methods were ineffective. By the mid-1950s, however, a Boeing Stearman, a biplane built in the 1930s and 40s, was effectively dropping water on fires in California, and modified agricultural biplanes (crop dusters) were dropping water and retardant on fires.

Retardant was an improvement from water. It wraps around and clings to fuels and doesn’t evaporate like water, thus inhibiting fuels from igniting. Initially retardant was a mixture of sodium calcium borate added to water, but was quickly abandoned because the borate sterilized soil and caused chemical burns to ground personnel. A lot has changed since then and the long-term retardants used today have greatly reduced the chemical risks to ground personnel, fish and wildlife, and the environment. Now retardant is made from phosphate salts with attapulagite clay or guar gum (thickeners) and iron oxide, which gives it the red color. Modern fire retardant is classified as a commercial fertilizer.

On a single day last summer, 63 missions dropped 88,910 gallons of retardant on several fires. By the end of the season on October 24, the Airtanker Base had dispensed a total of 1,723,183 gallons of retardant — a new regional record. The previous seasonal record of 980,000 gallons was set in 1967, the year of the Sundance and Trapper Peak fires.

Aerial firefighting advanced along with the retardant improvements. Retired WWII military aircraft were refurbished and put to work as water and retardant bombers. The Lockheed Martin P2V, a Korean War submarine hunter, was one of several different aircraft reconfigured for firefighting. Although successful with dousing flames and slowing fires, these aging planes were wearing out, and after several crashes and loss of life a few years ago, the majority of the fleet was grounded.

Officials with the U. S. Forest Service required a new fleet of "next-generation" air tankers to be jet powered, capable of flying at a speed of 300 knots while carrying at least 3,000 gallons of retardant. As Bud explained, "Most of these next-generation planes are refurbished passenger planes that were built to take off and land fully loaded. They are modern, faster and can carry much more retardant than the old bombers. New technology allows for multiple drops from one load with exceptional accuracy."

Water scooping planes also played a big part in the firefighting effort last summer. Initially developed in 1945 in Canada, water scooping planes are advantageous in areas with abundant lakes and rivers. Scoopers stationed here last year were the Air Tractor 802 (Fire Boss) and other single engine airtankers (SEATs). Fire Boss scoopers have an 800 gallon tank and are typically used as a rapid initial attack and to work in between the retardant drops.

These planes and the skilled pilots, another critical component of any firefighting mission, help firefighters on the ground get an upper hand early.

I asked Bud if he gets to take a break in the winter. He smiles and points at a large, 3-foot x 4-foot whiteboard divided into several long lists of tasks. Bud spends a good portion of his winter with planning, budgeting, aircraft solicitation and contracting, facilities and equipment operation and maintenance, preparedness reviews, and testing new recruits. He also instructs classes with topics including, among other things, what is a fire traffic area, temporary flight restrictions, aircraft types and uses, and the composition and environmental considerations of fire retardant. Additionally, he and many of the other firefighters may be dispatched to other areas of the country or other countries when there is a need for skilled support.

Last year in the Idaho Panhandle fires started early, the first on February 28, and ended late, the last one on November 3, and burned 54,843 acres of federal, state, tribal and private land. We had a fair snowpack in the mountains this past winter and some toad-choking rainy days this spring that pre-empted an early start to the fire season. However, we also had some record breaking hot days that brought back memories of the thick, choking smoke we endured for weeks last summer.

Bud and the crew at the Airtanker Base and the Wildland Fire Center are ready for whatever Mother Nature brews up for them this year. We are lucky to have them in our neck of the woods.

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