Late in the campaign/potential for effectiveness is quite a bold statement. Maybe not as far as slowing the progression of such an enormous run, but still extremely effective in bolstering the lines keeping it in check up the south side of the canyon rim. Complimenting the dozer lines so at minimum they keep it for lateral movement they don’t want.
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Not much aircraft are gonna do with a running crown fire with topography and wind in the fires favor
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Yeah, I hear you on them trying to work where they think they have an opportunity, don’t mind me. I’m just sad and not very hopeful that what they’re doing is going to work given the chaos of the day.
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Hey, I feel you. My country is the country from Shingletown east up to Old Station. The Dixie did enough damage to my heart up there, I was glad it got wrapped on that side.
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I think for a lot of us the impact and bite of a destructive fire is more severe when it’s on our own turf. When we lose areas that we have hiked, camped, hunted, fished or whatever the specific instance is or childhood friends homes get destroyed in any of these fires, it is very tough.
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Question for MendoRadio.
I am interested in understanding the evidence that the retardant is being extremely effective in bolstering the lines. I’m not disagreeing, I’m just thinking that this thing is spotting all over the place…much farther afield than a big fat dozer line supplemented by a ribbon of retardant. Seriously, I would like to know if it is really working?
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retardant is just bad (bright pink) line with fuel still in it. imo. 
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In cases like these retardant would be pseudo effective if resources backed it up, but that’s only flanking. Unfortunately a fire with this much heat and spotting isn’t likely to skip a beat as it moves through-unless the weather helps. Which it seems like it wasn’t today.
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In my opinion, the area has extremely predictable down canyon evening winds. They’ve been laying thick before bingo time for the aircraft… just before fire behavior moderates with the evening winds which have been resulting in a backing flanking fire that now has to eat through the retardant line. It’s how They held 32 when they shouldn’t have been able to, with the help of the SPI fuel breaks.
Any word on if we have any firing ops scheduled for tonight? A lot of dozer line in place up on the ridge between Mull and Deer creeks. It wouldn’t shock me if they fire off those lines in anticipation for tomorrow’s big afternoon push.
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I actually dont mean to be dismissive. But there is a mysticism around retardant that I think needs to be dispelled in the minds of the public and fire mgmt people. Does water work to fight fire? Of course! Does it always work? Of course not. Its the same with retardant. The idea that it would work in timber with heavy dead and down and/or brush when a fire wants to move is just magical thinking.
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The root word in the name means to slow. Not to stop
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What aircraft are based at Chester?
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2 SEATS not sure of their tanker numbers
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Four SEATs (830, 840, 835, 868) + an Air Attack (06). The SEATs are currently all out elsewhere. Supposedly we’ll have a load of helicopters coming in, but that was also supposed to happen a week ago. There’s an unassigned S-61 on site.
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The likelihood of SEATS being used on any CF jurisdiction fire is approaching zero. When the AA requests air tankers, they give very specific minimum requirements which exclude SEATS.
There was a pretty heated battle in the years following the Glass Fire between CF, the Napa County Board of Supervisors and the Napa Valley Vintners Association, which as one can imagine a very well funded lobbying group. The Vintners Association was guaranteeing funding for two SEATS to be housed at the Napa Airport for quick response aircraft in the Napa County area. The plan was vehemently opposed by CF for many reasons, some legit and some arguably questionable.
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They settled on a copter, instead.
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They used the dickens out of one (or 2? can’t remember) here on the Jones fire in NEU. The SEAT(s?) happened to be RON at Grass Valley when the fire was making a push toward a populated area and the SEAT was in rotation with the S2s most of a day.
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They had a choice of them or nothing else.
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