Miloch
June 20th 20, 02:38 AM
https://jalopnik.com/watch-a-firefighting-airtanker-rain-red-death-on-a-ford-1844099614
Forest fires are getting bigger, thanks to climate change, and when it comes to
fighting forest fires, bigger fires require bigger planes. This training video
was released during the height of the destructive 2019 fire season by folks who
know a thing or two about big fires and fighting them: the California Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A gif from this video popped up on Reddit this week, and I thought it would be
interesting to dive into it a little. It was taken from a training video CAL
Fire put together to illustrate the force of a payload delivery from new Large
Airtankers (LATs) and Very Large Airtankers (VLATs). They scarified a poor Ford
Expedition to illustrate just how intense the forces are during a fire retardant
drop (the car-crushing madness starts at 1:20)
https://youtu.be/ONdSoiI4zIA
The plane dropped 9,000 pounds of flame retardant on the Expedition, causing it
to rock and crushing in its roof. It never had a chance. That is the payload of
a LAT, a Grumman S2-T Tanker. And this is the small plane. A VLAT can drop up to
170,000 pounds over the length of a mile.
The entirety of the training in this video is one loud-and-clear message: Don’t
be near this thing when it drops. Which seems like good advice. Firefighters
emphasize that these planes can drop retardant in a stream 90 to 130 feet wide
and that fire fighters should stay at least 50 feet beyond the drop site. They
definitely should not be in front of or behind the payload.
The last few years have required some big planes indeed. Over 250,000 acres were
scorched in California in 2019 and three people lost their lives. The 2017 and
2018 season was even worse, with more than 100 people losing their lives.
Smaller fires are already forming in California, as summer heats up and
vegetation dries out, the VLATs will soon fly again.
*
Forest fires are getting bigger, thanks to climate change, and when it comes to
fighting forest fires, bigger fires require bigger planes. This training video
was released during the height of the destructive 2019 fire season by folks who
know a thing or two about big fires and fighting them: the California Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A gif from this video popped up on Reddit this week, and I thought it would be
interesting to dive into it a little. It was taken from a training video CAL
Fire put together to illustrate the force of a payload delivery from new Large
Airtankers (LATs) and Very Large Airtankers (VLATs). They scarified a poor Ford
Expedition to illustrate just how intense the forces are during a fire retardant
drop (the car-crushing madness starts at 1:20)
https://youtu.be/ONdSoiI4zIA
The plane dropped 9,000 pounds of flame retardant on the Expedition, causing it
to rock and crushing in its roof. It never had a chance. That is the payload of
a LAT, a Grumman S2-T Tanker. And this is the small plane. A VLAT can drop up to
170,000 pounds over the length of a mile.
The entirety of the training in this video is one loud-and-clear message: Don’t
be near this thing when it drops. Which seems like good advice. Firefighters
emphasize that these planes can drop retardant in a stream 90 to 130 feet wide
and that fire fighters should stay at least 50 feet beyond the drop site. They
definitely should not be in front of or behind the payload.
The last few years have required some big planes indeed. Over 250,000 acres were
scorched in California in 2019 and three people lost their lives. The 2017 and
2018 season was even worse, with more than 100 people losing their lives.
Smaller fires are already forming in California, as summer heats up and
vegetation dries out, the VLATs will soon fly again.
*