Fighting fires

[jon lynn]

When I see the news footage, of the small planes and helicopters dropping their loads, it looks like a drop of water in my BBQ.

I hope this does not seem silly. But, in the future, with upgrades, could the USAF use B52’s with water canisters to do mass drops of water or chemicals on huge fires like the one in California?

Couldn’t thin skinned plastic or fiberglass molds in the shape of an ordnance (like the bombs it was designed to carry), be used to do massive ‘carpet bombings’ of water on big fires?

[skeet]

I can just see it now. Air burst water ballons....big 'uns... great big'uns:D If only it would work!!:eek: :D It would have to be an air burst kind of water drop as the dispersed water helps to put the fire out much better than water on the ground. I have actually seen a building burn down that had a river of water flowing out the doors because the water wasn't dispersed enough to really put the fire out.

[GoodOlBoy]

aight so ya drop the MOAWB and fire at it with artillery as it drops!

KABLOOSSHHH!!!

:D

GoodOlBoy

[captain2k_ca]

Canada has just sent one of these to Kalifornia to help with the fires.

http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/Pictures/Mars3.jpeg

http://www.fishandduckhouseboats.com/images/fundeck-gallery/fd-houseboat-martin-mars.jpg


Biggest in the world....I am guessing it should be a big help!!


http://www.martinmars.com/:eek: :eek:

[Dan Morris]

Wildfires create their own vortex.....SCAREY and VERY unpredictable! Winds and heat are unimaginable. Getting a bird close enough for a drop is difficult.
My prayers go to the victims and firefighters...ground and air!
Dan

[Swift]

I guess anything is better than nothing when it comes to desperate measures.

[TreeDoc]

I live 15 minutes from a major CalFire Air Attack Squadron. The staple for air attack here in California is the Lockheed P3 Orion which is the US Navy's land based Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft that I crewed in. We also have a slug of the predecessor to the P3, the P2 Ventura. Not sure if they're using the C130 as in the last few years after a couple folded up out of state.

Now we have the DC-10 that CalFire has used on several fires this season. She (910) drops quite a load of Phoscheck or water.

The problem with these big birds is manuverabilty. The terrain is steep and riddled with deep canyons. 910 was fighting the White Fire here in California back in June. As she was setting up for a drop, the aircraft sank out due to windshear or some unforseeable phenomenon. The crew powered out and was successful at keeping the huge slug aloft. Upon inspection on the ground, the leading edges of the wings were battered and torn up from hitting the tops of trees. Imagine that in a DC-10!

As much as I hate to say it, I firmly believe we'll be reading about that plane and how they aluminum plated some mountainside in the not so distant future. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[Nulle]

I was on two fire lines in South Dakota this year and the fixed winged crafts are filled with slurry and these are water droppers.

[jon lynn]

I know of these rotary and fixed wing fire fighters, but it seems so little for so much fire. I really want to knoe if many planes can saturate a fire.

Like, clear whole areas at once. Which is why I was thinking B-52's. In Iraq we convoyed through an area that had been hit by a squadron of the old Buffalos and each bomb left a crater big enough for a duce and a half, and their were plenty of perfectly neat holes.

And the area of impact was huge! I think would help contain big fires.

[skeet]

Heard on the news that some judge has a case filed by some environmental (MENTAL)group saying that the stuff they use on fires is hurting plants in the environment and they want it stopped. Well duh!!?? if it's burned what has been hurt? as I said...Idiots:rolleyes: