Page 8 - Volume 11 Number 4

The National Interagency Fire Center is the command hub for the nation’s response to wildfires. More than 600 employees from eight federal and state agencies – including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management – work together to mobilize aircraft, firefighters, engines, equipment and intelligence to respond to wildfire. This photo shows National Interagency Fire Center resources gathered in Mesa, Arizona, for an annual off-season pilot and mission training.
as resources on the ground, like helping fire engines find access to the fire,” Bell said.
He added: “The position that I’m a part of as a pilot is the lead plane role. I’m generally 1,000 feet AGL around the fire or lower. My job is about efficiency and safety. I make sure we don’t have a lot of down air or too much turbulence, check visibility, go down and look for towers and wires, and then figure out exit routes for the tanker because we are generally operating in mountainous terrain. When the airtanker comes on scene, I’ll go out and join up with the tanker, I’ll describe the drop and then they follow me around and I get them on line. When I’m over the start point, I’ll verbally describe it and use the smoke system to mark it. Then, I turn and climb out of the way.”
The job continues with an evaluation of the drop and repeating the process for each tanker that arrives with a load of retardant. Fire retardants are typically dropped ahead of the moving fire or along its edge, and rather than a fire extinguisher, the retardant slows progress to give firefighters on the ground time to reach the area.
BLM has started to combine the two missions on one aircraft with what they call an aerial supervision module. The tactical supervisor joins the lead plane pilot. Having a second B200 will allow that collaboration to happen more often, and it also gives the agency year-round access to the aircraft.
“In the off-season, we’ll do training and quite a bit of maintenance,” Bell
6 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
APRIL 2017