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From 2013 but we are at it again anyway
DC-10 Tanker Air Carrier
Posted from biggeekdad.com
Natural Disaster
Fire Fighter
Aviation
State of California
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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You never really know fear and terror until you've lived through a wildfire. At first, you freak out, trying to figure out what to take when you evacuate the first time. Then you hope that if the fire is going to make you move, pray that it burns everything down so you can start over. Weird, but true, for my wife and I. Where these flames are in this pic, is less than 1/2 mile from our house, and we could feel the heat and see the flames shooting up over the treetops. Tankers and helicopters were flying non-stop, when possible, for over 2 weeks.
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SSG Robert Ricci
COL David Turk at least you've got a sense of humor about it. Actually, I would say Navy. But let's be clear that I was Army!
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COL David Turk
SSG Robert Ricci - me too. While I can complement the AF, there’s nothing like VN copter pilots flying “nape of the earth”. Got a first hand taste in a Louch (spelling?); two seater no doors, in Camp (now Fort) Drum.
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SSG Robert Ricci
COL David Turk that was my point exactly. Similar to an Apache helicopter in the army. Flying through a narrow pass as if it were a video game and a large extent it is with the HUD that they're watching. That's not really with the Airforce does. I'm sure there's things about the Air Force I don't know however. Someone will come along and correct me. That's the RP way. LOL. What I'm referring to or rotary craft. I know from actual firefighting experience that rotary craft make up the bulk of the direct action while we have DC-10s loaded with 20,000 gallons of retardant and or water. They round robin from a local Air Base which in fact is what we have. The old Norton Air Force Base in the Inland Empire 2 hours East of Los Angeles is now the San Bernardino International Airport. It is where the fleet of Forest Service aircraft and some Cal Fire are located. But they regularly get pulled off of a fire after laying down some good retardant to go put some retardant down on another fire. We have over 500 fires burning right now in California alone. The rotary aircraft and the air boss along with smaller air attack twin/quad turboprop small tankers stick around and do a lot of the work. Even they can get pulled off. Sharing of resources is difficult at best. Incidentally, fire retardant has a life expectancy of one and a half to two hours depending upon the weather. The purpose of laying it down as to give hand crews a chance to build lines.
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SFC Richard Williamson
COL David Turk - The pilots on this fire were both Army & AF. Helicopter pilots were Army, and the four DC-10s retired AF.
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LTC as a one-time firefighter up here in the mountains of Southern California I have got some fantastic photos of the DC 10's coming in making their runs. Imagine being underneath one as it drops. Messy is an understatement and dangerous as well.
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SFC Richard Williamson
I would think that it takes an extremely special kind of nerves to fly into a solid black wall and come out on the other side smiling.
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SP5 Jim Curry SSG (Join to see) Capt Jeff S. SSG Stephen Rogerson 1SG Dennis Hicks CPL Douglas Chrysler PO1 John Johnson SSgt Marian Mitchell A1C Doug Towsley PVT Mark Brown Sgt Bob Leonard Cpl Craig Meaux SSG Franklin Briant SrA Ronald Moore SGM Bill Frazer CMSgt Virgil Horsley PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG Samuel Kermon SSG Robert Mark Odom SPC Paul C.
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