On to Nevada

Well, we got cancelled twice yesterday but today finally got an order that stuck. Now we are headed to Winnemucca, Nevada for a severity detail. I'm not sure exactly whats in store for us but it'll be fun to do a little travel on the government's bill. By the time we get back the grass should be good and cured and we should be busy. We are spending the night in Pocatello, ID then finishing the drive tomorrow. The resource order was a little unclear but it sounds like the national office might be strategically pre-positioning us. A lot of the resources in the Southwest and the Great Basin went to California so they will probably use to fill in where needed. Could be pretty fun!

Recon Flight

We got dispatched to check out a smoke report on the Northern Cheyenne reservation today. I was on the flight load along with Matt and Shannon. I was hoping to IC the fire if it was small, but by the time we got close a couple of county engines had already gotten there and confirmed it was on private land. Dispatch had us continue our flight and do a recon of the Custer NF around Ft. Howes while making our way over to another smoke report by Knowlton. After about an hour and a half we stopped to refuel and none too soon for me. That was the longest flight that I've been on so far and my flight helmet was killing my head. It felt like a pair of vise grips squeezing my temples. After we landed I got the helmet a little better adjusted and the rest of the flight was more comfortable. We didn't end up finding the other smoke but at least I got to see some pretty country and get a couple of hours of overtime.

Canceled AGAIN!

Well, we got canceled again. Actually we got canceled twice this time. We had an order for Arizona and New Mexico and they both got canceled. We are now one of only a couple helicopters in the nation not in California or the Southwest. However, the crew did IA 3 small fires this week. I was on days off for two of them but at least we are getting some fires here and they are letting us get on them. My fire was the Griffin fire, a tiny 1\10th acre deal. The folks that flew had the fire lined by the time the rest of us got there so we just mopped it up. The top picture shows some of the helitack crew with some engine folks admiring our handy work. After we got the fire good and cleaned up the IC released most of the resources and we sat on the fire for several hours making sure it was secure. We left at about 2200h, just as the storms started rolling in. That gumbo soil is undriveable once it gets wet so you either have to get out quick or spend the night.

To Pheonix?

Well, we got word today that we'd be headed to Pheonix, AZ soon, probably tomorrow. It isn't absolutely certain yet since we don't have our resource order in hand, but its the surest thing we've gotten so far. We went to a National Preparedness Level 4 today, which means things are really starting to pick up nationally. Severity funding has probably come in for the Southwest and California and they are starting to preposition resources in those areas. So, if everything works out we'll be down in Arizona for the next couple weeks.

Another Cancelled Order

I had just gotten back from my run this morning when Conan, my boss, called and said we had a fire to go to in the Billings district. I've been in this business long enough to only believe I'll actually get on a fire when my paychecks in the bank, so I wasn't at all surprised that we were canceled as soon as I made it to the helibase. Well, at least there is the two hour call back rule, so any time you get called in on your days off you are guaranteed two hours of pay. I sharpened a couple of tools and went home. Its not much but its better than nothing.

Building Up Steam

The rest of the crew (I'm on days off) performed a recon flight over the Ft. Howes area to check if there were fires from the lightening storm last night. They got redirected mid-flight to initial attack (IA) a fire on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. So everyone got a fire and overtime. Except for those of us on days off. I could have followed in the second chase truck but those in charge decided it wasn't necessary to call me. Thats another $250 I didn't make. This on top of everything else is making me mad.

Fires in Nothern California

Today is one of my days off and I went down to the office to use the gym. I checked the Situation Report posted on the wall and was surprised to see Northern California picked up 18 new large uncontained fires overnight! Almost all of those fires are complexes, or a bunch of small fires that are grouped into a larger unit for organizational purposes. For example the SHU Lightning Complex is actually made up of 130 smaller fires, all lightning strikes. There is no reason why we shouldn't get out on these fires. I'm so ready to get out of here that every time my phone rings my heart jumps hoping its a fire call. I just hope our belly hook is fixed and doesn't hold us back.