Air tankers bomb B&B Complex fires with retardant

A tanker moves in for a drop on the Booth Fire. photo by Lynn Woodward

Air tankers have provided vital support to firefighters battling the Booth and Bear Butte Fires, hitting hot spots and laying protective retardant strikes in the vicinity of threatened structures.

Within a matter of a few minutes from when the telephone order comes, the air tanker-bombers stationed in Redmond can be loaded and flying.

"Even our Smoke Jumpers can be in the air from phone call to taxiing within a matter of minutes," said Scott Fisher, aviation manager of the regional aviation group attached to the Washington-Oregon Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

Fisher, himself a pilot who flew spotting planes over the Booth and Bear Butte fires, said that most of the aircraft he supervises are privately owned and under contract to the Forest Service.

"Many of our large air-tankers have four engines such as the DC-7s and DC-6s. We even have some DC-4s in our command," he said.

They also fly P-3 and P-2vs which are based in Redmond. The other planes fly in from all over the Northwest as needed.

"We get help from Klamath Falls, Moses Lake in Washington and as far away as Montana and Idaho," Fisher said. "We call for help from all over the northwestern division and even down into California if needed. But then, they also call us for help."

The fire retardant, which used to be called Borate, is composed of water, fertilizer (similar to ammonium sulfate used on home lawns), a coloring agent like a rust oxide, a thickener (guar-gum) and a clay dust to hold the water and mixture in suspension so that it descends as a mass.

"We'll also add a small corrosive inhibitor as our tanks are metal and this helps save them from rusting through," Fisher said. "Depending on the length of the runway, our large planes can hold between 2,000 and 3,000 gallons of retardant."

Pilots try to drop their load at about 200 feet.

"No lower than 100-150 feet," Fisher said, "depending upon wind and other conditions as we want it to land in a vertical direction."

He said that they can vary the drop angle at times by varying the opening of the bomb-bay doors.

"This material is not toxic," Fisher noted. "It washes off much as when one is fertilizing at home. There may be a slight skin irritation for a few hours but nothing permanent."

Pilots still coordinate with the ground troops, however, so they can move away from the flight path.

"Our pilots have to have a clear flyway to get in and, most importantly, to be able to fly out of a tight situation in a relatively straight line," Fisher said.

They call what they now drop a retardant as the mixture will still retard a fire's grown even after the water part of it has evaporated.

"A suppressant is more like a soapy foam and is not used as much now," Fisher said.

The air attack is an expensive part of the fire fighting operation. Each plane rents for between $2,000 and $4,000 a day. Even when not in operation, just sitting on the ground for days on end, the lease payments go on. When flying, they cost another $2,000 to $4,000 a day.

"The costs go on whether we fly or not," Fisher said. "The pilots are paid whether active or on standby, there is maintenance, insurance and probably a loan payment to be made by the owners. This is also a risky business and the pilots pay a very costly amount for life and medical insurance."

The procedure starts when the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center in Prineville receives a call from a lookout or fire commander.

They have a list of resources that determines potential ground fuel, weather conditions over the fire site, the value of the property and the number of people who might be in the vicinity.

They put out a call for air support, either fixed wing planes or helicopters. They determine the number of planes and other equipment necessary to fight a particular fire.

"When we get the call here," Fisher said, "we have a predetermined response already established. Our planes are already fueled. We roust out a pilot, load the plane with retardant and are in the air within 10 minutes. It only takes about six minutes to load our retardant."

The operations officer then gets the assigned radio frequency, the point of ground contact and where to fly to reload.

These giant planes fly about 180 miles per hour loaded, so they can be scrambled from fields at a distance and do not have to be held in readiness at Redmond.

"Our Smoke Jumpers are also at the ready all the time. We have their planes fueled and standing by immediately outside the hangars where they bunk. They can be in the air within five minutes," Fisher said. "As an aside, only certified FAA people can fold and pack the Smoke Jumpers parachutes."

"Not many know this, but two or three weeks ago during the rash of lightning strikes, our jumpers put out a hot spot atop Black Butte, right next to the tower.

"They hiked back down and were ready to go again within an hour. Sometimes these jumpers make four or five jumps in a day to get in quickly and put out a small fire before it gets too big."

During the past two weeks (August 19-September 3) five tankers have been employed on fighting the fires around Sisters.

While fighting the Booth Fire, the local air group has flown as many as 15 missions per plane per day.