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CAL FIRE Aviation Program: "Partnership in Professionalism" |
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California State Government and DI are a Model Team |
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They are public service dare devils. CAL FIRE’s DynCorp International pilots fly close to the ground through dense smoke, high wind and turbulence, over steep, dangerous terrain. With low visibility and zero room for error, their mission is critical – saving lives and homes from the wildfires that rip across the state each year. California’s aerial firefighting program is a small part of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Fighting, but it’s a program that’s making a big impact. With just 280 staff, 128 of whom work for DynCorp International, the CAL FIRE Aviation Program is recognized as a successful model for public/private partnership. State government employees manage the program and DynCorp International provides aviation professionals including pilots and maintenance specialists. Together, they form a team dedicated, above all, to mission. Every year there are more than 5,000 wildfires in California. Most are lightning-triggered. High winds and dry terrain from May to November precipitate the inevitable. A downed power line, carelessness with equipment, a cigarette – it doesn’t take much to ignite a blaze. Brush, timber, and grasses stand ready to fuel the smallest spark. As residential areas creep into the foothills, the wild land urban interface, or “WUI” in trade terms, is growing – along with the value of the property at risk. Some years are worse than others, and 2007 was one of those in the U.S. and abroad. The October fire siege in southern California was a week-long disaster that continued to grow in magnitude. Fires multiplied as the high winds carried cinders forward. The Santa Ana winds that blow from the desert to the ocean, reached hurricane velocity of 80-90 MPH. With winds of that velocity, planes are grounded and the pilots can only wait. Nearly 500,000 people were evacuated. Some of the fire fronts extended 20 miles and 17,000 firefighters battled the
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blazes. A few of the larger fires – “Witch,” “Rice,” “Malibu,” – attracted media attention, but in fact there were 251 additional fires in that basin. Thanks to CAL FIRE, all were kept to less than 20 acres. “DI pilots were some of the heroes of the whole operation – first on site. Those guys saved a lot of homes and a lot of lives,” said CAL FIRE Chief of Aviation Mike Padilla. The key is an aggressive initial attack policy. The state mandates that 90 percent of fires be kept to less than 10 acres. Last year, CAL FIRE beat the mandate with 98 percent of fires contained. With the necessary assets strategically located, and the ability to respond quickly, you can succeed. CAL FIRE has 13 air attack bases located throughout the state within a 20-minute range of any potential fire area. California is fortunate. The state can afford a world class aerial fire fighting program, and a fleet of aircraft that includes 23 S2Ts, 14 OV-10s, and 11 UH-1H Super Huey helicopters. The S2Ts are part of the federal government’s excess property program that recycles retired military assets. CAL FIRE modernized and reconfigured the S2T’s to carry 1,200-gallon tanks of fire retardant. OV-10s serve as command and control planes – air traffic controllers – with a DI pilot seated in front and an Air Tactical Group Supervisor behind. The helicopters |
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DynCorp International |
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DI WORLD May 2008 |