Fire bombers deployed early

[Wildfire 3]

Fire bombers deployed early

British Columbia is deploying water bombers early this year to counter the quick start to the fire season in northern B.C., despite more-favourable conditions on the horizon.

http://www.castanet.net/news/BC/163786/ ... oyed-early

Mars is out, Avro RJ85 is IN

[Barney Google]

Looks like we are in for another scary fire season. Meanwhile the local dollar stores are selling flying fire candles for under Two dollars. Is that stupid or what?

[Wildfire 3]

Looks like we are in for another scary fire season. Meanwhile the local dollar stores are selling flying fire candles for under Two dollars. Is that stupid or what?

Opening a crate of stupid, one can at a time.

[ferri]

not that this will do any good with some people but: http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... htm#163796

[Barney Google]

Would it be too much to ask the local store owners to pull this product? I'm sorry but the older I get the more I see reason to believe common sense ain't all that common anymore. Maybe shop owners selling these flying fire bombs ought to be fined.

[GordonH]

If current weather continues (lack of rain) this could be a very scary wild fire year.

[fall]

There are a lot of new residents and displaced Albertans in the central Okanagan this year that probably do not fully understand how little it takes and easy it is to start a fire. It will be a busy one I predict.

[trapp]

There are a lot of new residents and displaced Albertans in the central Okanagan this year that probably do not fully understand how little it takes and easy it is to start a fire. It will be a busy one I predict.

Albertans are as fire conscience as BC residents. There are many fires in Alberta and they experience these same early spring hazards which prevail until "green up" http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/a ... -1.3543426

Hopefully some spring rains will reset the fire hazard ratings.

How is it that after so many years the news media can not use proper fire terminology. They are not "water bombers" or "fire bombers", they are "air tankers". Guess I am just OCD when it comes to wildfires having had some of this drilled into me after 50 years in fire control.

[fall]

Albertans are as fire conscience as BC residents. There are many fires in Alberta and they experience these same early spring hazards which prevail until "green up" http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/a ... -1.3543426

Hopefully some spring rains will reset the fire hazard ratings.

How is it that after so many years the news media can not use proper fire terminology. They are not "water bombers" or "fire bombers", they are "air tankers". Guess I am just OCD when it comes to wildfires having had some of this drilled into me after 50 years in fire control.

I would beg to differ and think that people who are not necessarily familiar with BC and its terrain and pine trees and dry brush are as fire conscious or realize the potential hazards.
They refer to water bombers as being water bombers, the Martin Mars website calls them just that. Do you mean air tankers as in the planes that drop retardant?

[Glacier]

It's a typical human thing to think you get things worse and others don't know what it's like. In reality, much of Canada gets more fire activity than the Okanagan. Here's a graph showing all the areas in Canada that have burned since 1980. Note that the Okanagan is not special, and also note that the black spruce that populates the north is far more combustible than the pine you find in the Okanagan.

areaburned.png

[trapp]

Airtanker
Fixed-wing aircraft certified by the FAA as being capable of transporting and delivering 600 to 3,0000 gallons of water or other liquid or powder fire retardants. Formerly referred to as borate bombers before borate-based retardants became less desirable. Often accompanied by a spotter plane.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_ ... fire_terms

Airtanker-
A fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks and equipment for dropping suppressants or retardants on fires. Note Helitanker

Water Bombing-The act of dropping suppressants (water or short-term retardant) on a wildfire from an aircraft in flight. Note
Fire Bombing.

http://bcwildfire.ca/mediaroom/backgrou ... ossary.pdf

[fall]

Airtanker or air tanker generally refer to fixed-wing aircraft based in the United States; "airtanker" is used in official documentation.[2] The term "waterbomber" is used in Canadian government documents for the same class of vehicles.[3][4]

[fall]

It's a typical human thing to think you get things worse and others don't know what it's like. In reality, much of Canada gets more fire activity than the Okanagan. Here's a graph showing all the areas in Canada that have burned since 1980. Note that the Okanagan is not special, and also note that the black spruce that populates the north is far more combustible than the pine you find in the Okanagan.

That graph represents nearly 40 years, any graphs or stats in say the last ten years that may portray more accurate times now and a new generation of people?

[fall]

Anyway, lets hope that people can be a little more cautious and not have an extreme fire season this year in the Okanagan. There have already been several small fires from careless brain dead people that could have escalated quickly.

[Glacier]

That graph represents nearly 40 years, any graphs or stats in say the last ten years that may portray more accurate times now and a new generation of people?

You get huge variation from one year to the next, but the patters are still the same. There are fewer fires in the Okanagan and they tend to be smaller in size than in the northern boreal forest. Why? Because we get less lightning, less wind, and the species of tree are less combustible.

Let's just look at the BC since 2002. Here is a list of the 40 largest fires in the province since 2002, note that only one of them was in the Okanagan:

Largestfires.png