Massassi Forums Logo

This is the static archive of the Massassi Forums. The forums are closed indefinitely. Thanks for all the memories!

You can also download Super Old Archived Message Boards from when Massassi first started.

"View" counts are as of the day the forums were archived, and will no longer increase.

☖ Forums → Discussion Forum → Avenger's back, again (with awesome pics)
12
Avenger's back, again (with awesome pics)
2007-08-23, 8:39 PM #1
I just got back from another fire assignment. I spent 18 days up in Oregon working on two different fires. We did got to do some burnout work and even had to retreat from an advancing fire. Pretty intense stuff. Pics below.

1.) A tree torching across a drainage from where we were. Those are probably 60 foot flames.

2.) We were doing a burn out operation and our fire slopped over out fire line, so some guys are cutting hot line to contain the slop over.

3.) Helicopter bucket drops were called in to help with the slop over. The guys cutting hot line got wet while they were working.

4.) 100 hour cigars with a two fellow crew members. We reached 250 hours worked for the entire assignment.

5.) Me with my chainsaw. It's my baby. Her name is Maggie.
Attachment: 17120/DSCF0437.JPG (100,443 bytes)
Attachment: 17121/DSCF0454.JPG (117,012 bytes)
Attachment: 17122/DSCF0458.JPG (22,668 bytes)
Attachment: 17123/DSCF0499.JPG (38,244 bytes)
Attachment: 17124/DSCF0540.JPG (108,931 bytes)
Pissed Off?
2007-08-23, 8:41 PM #2
Nice pics. Welcome back!
woot!
2007-08-23, 8:43 PM #3
Awesome stuff man. Welcome back :D
2007-08-23, 8:43 PM #4
6.) Saw squad with the smoke plume from the Irish Springs Fire blowing up in the background.

7.) Me with my swamper after finishing some structure protection work. The fire was making a run for us while we were working.

8.) A Humvee Fire Engine

9.) The fire is about 100 yards away from us. We're getting ready to retreat to out safety zone down the road.

10.) That's a running wildfire about less that a mile away from our safety zone. It can't be stopped at this point.
Attachment: 17125/DSCF0567.JPG (53,707 bytes)
Attachment: 17126/DSCF0570.JPG (102,883 bytes)
Attachment: 17127/DSCF0571.JPG (110,909 bytes)
Attachment: 17128/DSCF0576.JPG (69,418 bytes)
Attachment: 17129/DSCF0592.JPG (66,234 bytes)
Pissed Off?
2007-08-23, 8:48 PM #5
11.) Working a night burnout. We were the only handcrew on the fire at this point. We worked with six engines and were lighting a back fire to keep the fire from running to a town. We started our shift at 6:00 am and ended and 2:00 the next morning.

12.) A crew member putting fire on the ground with a drip torch. The fire spotted over the road into the green a couple of times. If we hadn't been able to get a handle on those spot fires, the fire would still be running right now.

13.) More from the burn out operation.

14.) A retardant drop on our last shift. The plane was dropping about fifty feet from us and was about fifty feet above us.

15.) There were two planes and each one made two drops. We all got speckled with the retardant.
Attachment: 17130/DSCF0601.JPG (47,588 bytes)
Attachment: 17131/DSCF0606.JPG (34,556 bytes)
Attachment: 17132/DSCF0613.JPG (41,109 bytes)
Attachment: 17133/DSCF0628.JPG (44,584 bytes)
Attachment: 17134/DSCF0629.JPG (44,497 bytes)
Pissed Off?
2007-08-23, 8:52 PM #6
16.) Dan lost the stupid flip and he had to wear all of his line gear to dinner in camp that night. I was the second to last person eliminated from the circle. That could have been me!

Overall, it was an awesome assignment. We didn't work anything less that a 16 hour shift the entire time out. The Incident Commander for the Irish Springs fire even said that they would have been able to hold the fire if our crew hadn't been there for the burnout. It was a pretty big deal.
Attachment: 17135/DSCF0650.JPG (41,506 bytes)
Pissed Off?
2007-08-23, 9:00 PM #7
I clicked on this thread thinking I was going to see pictures of Avenger's back.
If you think the waiters are rude, you should see the manager.
2007-08-23, 9:36 PM #8
I was wondering where Avenger went. Unlike a lot us, it's good to know he's doing something good for humanity when logged off.

Is the retardant left on the ground so fires can't advance?
SnailIracing:n(500tpostshpereline)pants
-----------------------------@%
2007-08-23, 9:47 PM #9
Pretty much. They dropped around a spot where the fire was picking up, then we went in and knocked the fire out.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-23, 10:00 PM #10
Time for my requisite comment about how awesome that is. Great pictures, too. I love that humvee.
Warhead[97]
2007-08-24, 12:01 AM #11
welcome back! and awesome pics... however im still waiting on a picture of you smokin a cigar WHILE fighting a fire.:colbert:
Welcome to the douchebag club. We'd give you some cookies, but some douche ate all of them. -Rob
2007-08-24, 12:07 AM #12
wow.

Brings a whole new meaning to "fight fire with fire"

I can tell you're loving every second of it. awesome man! mad props from me!
"NAILFACE" - spe
2007-08-24, 12:24 AM #13
Welcome back honkie.

Hope you're on well.
D E A T H
2007-08-24, 2:25 AM #14
Awesome manbeard.
If my smoking bothers you, don't breathe.
2007-08-24, 9:59 AM #15
Those guys in the retardant planes look like they have a cool job.
Ban Jin!
Nobody really needs work when you have awesome. - xhuxus
2007-08-24, 11:42 AM #16
That's crazy, you are a badass.
2007-08-24, 11:50 AM #17
Multiple kinds of awesome.
2007-08-24, 1:37 PM #18
Some guys took video of the retardant drops too. Hopefully I can get my hands on those and post them.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-24, 4:41 PM #19
Oooh look at me, I'm the cool fire man, with my cool pics. Look at me! La dee dah!

:colbert:
"Guns don't kill people, I kill people."
2007-08-24, 5:40 PM #20
did anyone else read this as "Avenger's black, again"
eat right, exercise, die anyway
2007-08-24, 5:48 PM #21
I was black after every shift playing in the ash. :D
Pissed Off?
2007-08-24, 7:52 PM #22
I was wondering, about those crop-duster/fire retardant spraying planes:
How effective are they? It seems like they can only do a little patch before having to "reload"
This is retarded, and I mean drooling at the mouth
2007-08-24, 7:57 PM #23
Diggin' the cigar dude.

So Cal taught you the stuff to be a fireman?
Back again
2007-08-25, 12:42 AM #24
I took some wildland fire science classes at Cal that got me hooked. All the training was through the Forest Service.

Originally posted by F-Body:
I was wondering, about those crop-duster/fire retardant spraying planes:
How effective are they? It seems like they can only do a little patch before having to "reload"



Those are small planes for retardant drops on small areas. The air tankers get as big as DC-10s which they use to drop long retardant lines.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-25, 12:59 AM #25
Oh, curious did you dorm at the buildings near or at Putnam? And have you eaten at the Top Dog place near by?
Back again
2007-08-25, 5:04 AM #26
Originally posted by Avenger:
Those are small planes for retardant drops on small areas. The air tankers get as big as DC-10s which they use to drop long retardant lines.

Yeah, but that 910 is a fairly rare sight, I think it's only been called out once...maybe twice this year? The 130's are the more likely workhorses.
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-08-25, 8:49 AM #27
Depends on the agency. Most of the air tankers they use are private contract. CAL Fire uses the DC-10 a fair about now.. Federal agencies haven't approved it yet.

Originally posted by Warlockmish:
Oh, curious did you dorm at the buildings near or at Putnam? And have you eaten at the Top Dog place near by?


I lived at Clark Kerr for a semester. That was it for the dorms.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-25, 4:43 PM #28
Question: Why hasn't someone bought and modified a bomber capable of heavy lift and precision targeting and/or carpet bombing for these drops? Seriously, the B52 has a max takeoff weight of 488,000 pounds compared to the C130's 155,000 pounds...
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2007-08-25, 5:09 PM #29
Lol, I'd like to see a B-2 bomber modded to drop that stuff...although it is hella expensive.
Back again
2007-08-25, 6:03 PM #30
Originally posted by Commander 598:
Question: Why hasn't someone bought and modified a bomber capable of heavy lift and precision targeting and/or carpet bombing for these drops? Seriously, the B52 has a max takeoff weight of 488,000 pounds compared to the C130's 155,000 pounds...


Prop planes perform better for these low level drops as they can pull out of the low dives better than jets. The DC-10s were grounded in California for a while because one scraped some trees while trying to pull up after releasing it's load. Dropping retardant isn't like dropping a smart bomb either. These plane come in about 100 feet off the ground.

The modified C130s have a 3000 gallon capacity. The DC-10 has a 12000 gallon capacity. I don't think something like a b-52 would work all that well because it wouldn't handle the low level flight very well.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-25, 9:00 PM #31
Who said anything about low level? You could manufacture some sort of bomb-like dispersion system (No explodey things) that could be dropped from high altitude, deploy a parachute at X altitude and start spitting/spraying the stuff out, now add in that a B52 can carry an ungodly amount of them, probably even more if the modded variant has smaller fuel tanks to compensate for the fact that it isn't supposed to fly around the world, and you've got plenty to pile on a fire.

Also, I have had a B52 rattle my windows, and i'm nowhere near close enough to Barksdale for a landing. They CAN fly low...but I definitely wouldn't advise the BUFF do it.
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2007-08-25, 9:28 PM #32
The trouble is that if you drop something on a parachute, the wind becomes a problem, blowing said dispersal system off course. Same goes for the retardant itself. If it is dropped from too high, it doesn't effectively create a retardant line. Furthermore, using something that is dropped from a plane and then disperses the retardant would be insanely expensive.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-26, 1:37 AM #33
The real problem is is the sheer logistics and resources that'd be required to develop, build, and mass produce "retardant bombs" which adds multiple middle men for something that can be done with cheaper means that don't run the risk of manufacturing shortages during large fire seasons. Besides, why would you suggest the BUFF of all planes when the Bone can life more and was designed for low level flying (completely ignoring the costs to keep any U.S. bomber airborne per hour...)?
omnia mea mecum porto
2007-08-26, 3:26 AM #34
Number 10 (I think) just changed my life.
2007-08-26, 3:28 AM #35
Freaking awesome.

I guess they'd really need something like this in Greece. Silly dirty man-fondling beardpeople and their philosophies.
Star Wars: TODOA | DXN - Deus Ex: Nihilum
2007-08-26, 4:48 AM #36
You could use the AC-130H Spectre gunships, the ones with the 105mm cannons, to fire some sort of flame-retardant filled shell. Set the shell/ fuze combo for ICM or Airburst.
If my smoking bothers you, don't breathe.
2007-08-26, 7:52 AM #37
Originally posted by Avenger:
The trouble is that if you drop something on a parachute, the wind becomes a problem, blowing said dispersal system off course. Same goes for the retardant itself. If it is dropped from too high, it doesn't effectively create a retardant line. Furthermore, using something that is dropped from a plane and then disperses the retardant would be insanely expensive.


Except if the chute opens at a really low altitude...I swear this is how cluster bombs currently work too. Roach is right, it would be damned expensive, but I feel a carpet bomber that has made mile long imitations of the moon's surface might be more effective than a single plane making short drops...or helicopters with tanks that hold about as much water as a large aquarium.

Quote:
You could use the AC-130H Spectre gunships, the ones with the 105mm cannons, to fire some sort of flame-retardant filled shell. Set the shell/ fuze combo for ICM or Airburst.


105s aren't big enough nor does the Spectre carry enough of them. Though having bombs set on a very low altitude air burst might work...
<Rob> This is internet.
<Rob> Nothing costs money if I don't want it to.
2007-08-26, 10:33 AM #38
The DC-10 drop a 100 foot wide, 3/4 mile long line.
Pissed Off?
2007-08-26, 11:01 AM #39
Originally posted by FastGamerr:
Freaking awesome.

I guess they'd really need something like this in Greece. Silly dirty man-fondling beardpeople and their philosophies.


That reminds of something I saw on DW Euronews earlier this summer about wildfires in western Spain. It showed actual firefighters and planes dropping retardant lines. Then they said that the fires have spread into Portugal as well, and showed a clip of ten guys shoved into the back of a red pickup truck driving towards a fire. I lol'd. Mexico of Europe and whatnot.
:master::master::master:
2007-08-26, 12:16 PM #40
Originally posted by Commander 598:
Except if the chute opens at a really low altitude...I swear this is how cluster bombs currently work too. Roach is right, it would be damned expensive, but I feel a carpet bomber that has made mile long imitations of the moon's surface might be more effective than a single plane making short drops...or helicopters with tanks that hold about as much water as a large aquarium.

You have to think about what a wildfire is like. Flames reach 60, 80, 100 ft in the air, temperatures quite high, and not to mention the hurricane-like wind gusts that a wildfire can generate. You drop a chute-bomb and it drifts away because of a gust, well now you've wasted a bomb, $$$, and time. Also, you would need A LOT. You fail to realize the size of wildfires. These burn hundreds of acres. You're thinking of using bombs to suck the oxygen out so the fire can't burn. Like how they would put out an oil rig fire. It doesn't work on a large scale such as a wildfire.
Code to the left of him, code to the right of him, code in front of him compil'd and thundered. Programm'd at with shot and $SHELL. Boldly he typed and well. Into the jaws of C. Into the mouth of PERL. Debug'd the 0x258.
12

↑ Up to the top!