surprise!
boy, was i surprised to get two cds full of two seasons worth of fire photos from cam this morning. i'll probably be subjecting y'all to a few posts featuring some of these photos, which hi-lite a number of silly things we do in the course of a summer.
i'll start with getting smoked by a CL-215 drop.
a CL215 aircraft drops over 5000 litres of water, skimmed from a nearby lake, mixed with fire foam, an ultra-concentrated-dish-soap like substance that turns the water, when agitated and mixed with air, into a wet, bubbly liquid.
this is what they look like when they drop:
the air attack officer (AAO), who flies in the bird dog plane and directs the drops of the tankers, should be in steady contact with any fire crews on the ground. this is to ensure that all individuals are away from the path of the drop, as a direct hit would most likely be fatal. on one fire this season, however, the AAO must have had his directions confused, as he told cam and i to make our way to the northeast end of the fire to avoid incoming drops. he probably should have said southwest. this was the result:
fortunately, we were at the tail-end of the drop and weren't hit by the full-force of the drop. in training, we're told to lie flat on our fronts, heads facing the incoming tanker. cam and i chose to simply turn our backs and point our asses at the incoming tanker. ha.
i'll start with getting smoked by a CL-215 drop.
a CL215 aircraft drops over 5000 litres of water, skimmed from a nearby lake, mixed with fire foam, an ultra-concentrated-dish-soap like substance that turns the water, when agitated and mixed with air, into a wet, bubbly liquid.
this is what they look like when they drop:
the air attack officer (AAO), who flies in the bird dog plane and directs the drops of the tankers, should be in steady contact with any fire crews on the ground. this is to ensure that all individuals are away from the path of the drop, as a direct hit would most likely be fatal. on one fire this season, however, the AAO must have had his directions confused, as he told cam and i to make our way to the northeast end of the fire to avoid incoming drops. he probably should have said southwest. this was the result:
fortunately, we were at the tail-end of the drop and weren't hit by the full-force of the drop. in training, we're told to lie flat on our fronts, heads facing the incoming tanker. cam and i chose to simply turn our backs and point our asses at the incoming tanker. ha.