Not to overload this thread with camera screenshots, but it’s putting up a very nice pyrocumulus now.
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https://imgur.com/gallery/ZaKoIty
Pizona making a good run today, the bent over column stood up and she’s eating.
Real windy here about 30 miles west at Mammoth Mountain ski area
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There are some Big Mule Deer in that country. Smart and Stealthy. Hate to see alot of their habitat get burnt up. Cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Anything living out there has to be tough from plant life to animals.
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They’ll be fine. The burn will be a good hunting spot next season
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T-82 & 83 should be on their last run to the east. Been a busy day for those two, but flying over some amazing beautiful country.
NBurn you Sir are correct, just takes so long in that area for vegetation to grow back. But that’s natures cycle.
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Not directed to you , I don’t get it sometimes, why waste the money? Look at just the aviation cost. 2 Vlats on top of a host of other tankers.
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For those interested as of this morning 6/28:
Command ch is still INF North 173.8000
Air tactics is 165.3625 (should be heard over a wide area)
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Looking from Mammoth cam 1 it looks ‘calm’ this morning. No header … yet. Daytime heating on the way.
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Expensive measures for sure. But, protecting sage grouse habitat is a management objective for Federal agencies.
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There are natural resources that are being impacted negatively as well. Fire is beneficial to the ecosystem but not as much when the intensity creates STAND replacement and only thing growing is brush for 20 years. Amongst other reasons.
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VLAT’s are the cheaper option compared to smaller tankers.
They can lay down more retardant per flight hour and can also reduce total incident cost by shortening duration resulting in additional savings in ground resource cost.
Here is an older but public comparison on costs.
Microsoft Word - COMPARATIVE COSTS_Colockum Tarp, w-o name.docx (wildfiretoday.com)
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Not much visible on the cameras but they’ve been hitting it with tankers, tanker 132 and 03 have been flying out of fresno.
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I thought at one time Bishop had a tanker reload Base. Was it cost prohibtiive to maintain the Facility or just not enough fires to be cost effective and justify to keep it staffed?
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They did but not now, the tanks are still there but that taxiway looked bad on Google satellite images. Jumper 55 was there but even they ended up going to fresno.
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Looks like a number of the taxiways are closed.
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