At least two single-engine aircraft, Airtractor AT802-Fs, have been assigned to cover the region and assist ground crews battling any blazes that crop up, said Troy Ducheneaux, regional coordinator. On Thursday, two similar aircraft were in Abilene to help with a fire in Reeves County near Fort Stockton.
Pilot James Daniell of Bastrop, La., was busy Thursday checking over his cockpit in case he was called to respond.
“The aircraft is a dream to fly because it does a wonderful job in close quarters,” he said. “It really helps in areas where you may not have ground personnel yet, in rugged terrain.”
The regional firefighting base is staffed by at least two pilots, a coordinator and four or five crew members who run a fire retardant plant, Ducheneaux said.
Pilot Jim Watson said air crews usually receive a dispatch from the Forest Service on air-to-ground radio frequencies and then coordinate their aerial attack with an incident commander on the ground.
Ducheneaux said aerial firefighting requires close coordination between ground crews and pilots to avoid buildings and other structures and to ensure air crews drop retardant exactly where it’s needed.
“They will call in where that fire is at with GPS coordinates, and once the aircraft are getting over the scene, they will coordinate with that incident commander to develop a plan, where they want those aircraft to drop that retardant,” he said.
The planes, he said, carry a nontoxic fire retardant mixture of salt and phosphorous that creates a barrier coating between the fire and grass, trees or other potential fire fuel.
“These aircraft will carry 800 gallons when then they are topped off of retardant,” he said. “It creates a protective coating that keeps that fire from eating into those fuels.”
The mobile crews, Watson said, respond wherever they’re needed.
“We’re a national resource that’s moved around to different sites as fire danger increases,” he said. ““We can respond to just about anywhere in Texas from here ... We’ll be here as long as they need us.”
Story and photos: http://amarillo.com
Aerial firefighter Jim Watson stands next to a single-engine aircraft Thursday that is stationed at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.
Aerial firefighter Jim Daniell preps for another flight Thursday near Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.
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