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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That happens a lot when S2s are tapped out and they could quickly fly SEATs in from Chester or Reno or wherever they happen to be but somebody is dead set against them.
I do think one crashed shortly after the Jones fire so who knows, may be justified.
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They were talking about FireBoss single engine scoopers for Napa, weren’t they?
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Yes, that was the original plan
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I recall the summer of SEATs in SoCal when the Forest Service lost all their Type 1 tankers.
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The new Type 1 helitankers are a much better option. Like having a LAT with 3-8 min. turn around times
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