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Strzelec wrote: " 'bd747 writes "That is a lot of water. Could a 747 navigate through all the canyon passes down here?'

Wouldn't want to be on one if it tries. [GRIN]"

LOL!

"For the DC10, current CDF doctrine is to use it to lay a buffer zone of retardant between the fire and a populated area to allow time for ground crews and traditional air to build a fire line. CDF uses their rotary & fixed wing (S-2T tankers) assets for the pinpoint stuff. Under current doctrine, don't think the DC10 would have to do any Luke Skywalker-like gyrations. Dittos for the 747, when we get one."

Thanks Strzelec, that's very interesting and it makes sense to use a big water drop to make a protective buffer zone.

Those helicopter pilots and smaller plane pilots though look like they must be fighting some pretty tough conditions navigating through the heavy smoke and the fire-generated winds in the middle of Santa Ana conditions.

"I worked a small fire (230 acres) last week east of Ramona in San Diego county. Winds gusting to 40 mph - not good. CDF and the local fire departments were all over that fire like a cheap suit. The S-2Ts were a pleasure to watch - even in the gusty winds they were making drops with pinpoint accuracy. 1200 gallons on the right place works, too."

That's interesting and it's good to hear that Free Republic has a resident firefighter. :-)

Depending upon conditions, aren't the smaller fires sometimes just as deadly as the larger fires?

Not a firefighter, although I've had a fair amount of such training in the Navy and the natural gas industry. I'm basically a volunteer radio operator for some of the emergency response groups in the area. Wildfires are our number one problem, especially in eastern San Diego county.

Sometimes I get called out early in an incident when the situation is best described as being fluid. If you don't know something about wildland fires and how they are fought (and they are vastly different than structure fires), you could find yourself in some "No Man's Land" between the flames and the retardant drops.

All fires are dangerous. Whether large or small, what causes problems is lack of good information (definitely impacted by the quality of communications) and/or complacency. Firefighters that are too complacent either forget their training, or take short cuts. That leads to mistakes that can be fatal.