California Wildfire first of many - Will firefighters cope?

[budthespud]

http://www.profindpages.com/news/2005/06/23/MN1000.htm

[mtnfireguy]

With they cope?

Of course they will....


With or without a IL-76

[budthespud]

Tell your boy, Jerry T. Williams, to come
out of his bureaucratic hole right now and
make an accounting of himself and his
department - not send women to do his
bloody job for him.

The Congressman asked for him.

Where is he?

Hiding?

[DennisTheMenace]

Originally posted by budthespud
Tell your boy, Jerry T. Williams, to come
out of his bureaucratic hole right now and
make an accounting of himself and his
department - not send women to do his
bloody job for him.

The Congressman asked for him.

Where is he?

Hiding? Why not worry about your own legislative body?
Our firefighters will cope just fine, just as they do every fire season. And for aircraft, Evergreen's 747 should be on line by the end of July, so once again AMERICA will solve our problems as we take care of the rest of the world.

[budthespud]

Tell me more.

[mtnfireguy]

http://www.evergreenaviation.com/supertanker/faq.html

[budthespud]

Is there something there about
service in '05?

[mtnfireguy]

"While administrators at Evergreen International Aviation in Marana are banking on final tests in June to find the so-called Supertanker airworthy, the delay in additional resources couldn't come at a worse time for the state, where some predict a devastating fire season in the high country and areas close to the Valley."


I will also note, I am not a big fan of the 747 either..... and here is a comment that many have made already as well...

Air power aside, Davis said wildfires are fought and won on the ground. Tankers and other aircraft are simply a backup device for ground personnel, she said.

Arizona state Forester Kirk Rowdabaugh believes the jetliner is a single instrument in a large toolbox manned by federal and state wildland firefighters.

"I can certainly imagine scenarios where having that amount of retardant available to you would be an advantage. In some cases, it would certainly be overkill," he said.

"I've not yet seen the magic wand out there and I don't expect to live long enough to see that."

[budthespud]

heh - I read the other day that
there were a lot of skeptics
when they introduced the first
of the big aircraft of the previous
generation.

It'll never work, they said.

It did. You never heard those people
say those things again.

I'll bet Don McIvor had people say the
Martin Mars would never work.

Don, who just passed away this year,
won the Order of Canada for getting the
Mars going.

You can read a short paragraph on it
here: http://www.vectorsite.net/avmars.html#m7

Things were simpler in the 50s, it seems.

Happens all the time, in many different
areas. Skeptics. I hear it happens in
the fire business a lot. That
observation I got from the guy who
chaired the World Police and Fire Games.

[DennisTheMenace]

Originally posted by budthespud
Is there something there about
service in '05? AviationWeek, which I am sure you read since you want to be well versed in this area, reported last week that it is expected to be flying by the end of July.

[budthespud]

It wouldn't be much of an aircraft
if it couldn't fly.

Whether it's effective in the role
is quite another question.