Reporting wildfires?

What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

The one time I reported one I called NY Approach. They asked me for the
coordinates, a description of the location, and the extent of the fire.
They seemed to have a pretty clear idea of what to ask for and what to do
about it. The controller told me he would relay it to the appropriate
authorities, and sure enough, on my way back home an hour later, I saw fire
crews making their way through the woods. Of course I can't be sure it was
my call, but I'd do the same thing again if I saw another fire.


"Ben Jackson" wrote in message
news:GaTmc.48034$Ik.3422596@attbi_s53...
What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?


When I used to fly fire patrol missions for Civil Air Patrol, we would
report location, size, direction of movement, and threatened structures. If
you just give them a location with lat/lon or radial/distance, they'll
report it for you. You should do it, you may be saving somebody's home by
allowing fire crews to get there quicker. If it was serious enough, we
would stay on station to continue reporting on it until the cavalry arrived.

Living out here in the West where fires are a fact of life during late
summer we report a lot of fires. Call the nearest Tower or if you are out
of radio range call AFSS. We have a centralized dispatch center that we
call with fire reports. Give them the fires location as a radial and
distance from a VOR. Don't worry if you're off by a few miles as that isn't
important. Fires can be seen from quite a distance, even the really small
ones, so just getting the Forest Service aircraft in the right vicinity is
more than adequate.



"Ben Jackson" wrote in message
news:GaTmc.48034$Ik.3422596@attbi_s53...
What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

The Gipper is right. Tell ATC about it, they are hooked up to the right
people, and they will consolidate reports to eliminate duplicate sightings.

The morning after a thunderstorm is when they need the help the most.
Most of the fires you see then are new. Your warning does make a difference.
I used to fly fire spotter for the USFS, and there have been times when a
few reports saved us hours of flying around looking for smoke.
Al Gerharter


"Gipper" wrote in message
...
What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it?
Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?


When I used to fly fire patrol missions for Civil Air Patrol, we would
report location, size, direction of movement, and threatened structures.
If
you just give them a location with lat/lon or radial/distance, they'll
report it for you. You should do it, you may be saving somebody's home by
allowing fire crews to get there quicker. If it was serious enough, we
would stay on station to continue reporting on it until the cavalry
arrived.

Ben Jackson wrote:

What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?

I generally call Fligh****ch. In fact, I reported several fires just last
week over the Cascades in western Washington. The person I spoke with said
they had reports on most of them, but on the last one - which looked like a
pretty serious fire - she said they hadn't had any reports on that one yet
(near Ellensburg).

It's definitely worth doing. It certainly can't hurt.

David Herman
Boeing Field (BFI), Seattle, WA
N6170T 1965 Cessna 150E
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Visit the Pacific Northwest Flying forum:
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/pnwflying

It is very difficult for the layperson to tell the difference among a
"wildfire", a rural homestead's burn pile, a controlled burn, etc. I
sure can't, and I have reported many fires that ended up being
controlled. However, I will never stop reporting them, and
everyone---everyone---I have ever reported to appreciates the call.

I try to get GPS coords or at least identifiable landmarks and report
either to fligh****ch or to a local unicom operator. In fact, I find it
much more useful to report first to a local unicom, as they are likely
to know about major controlled burns in the area. It is not too
surprising that many unicom operators are also local firefighters---ours is.

Ben Jackson wrote:

What do you do when you're flying over remote wilderness and see a fire?
If I'm talking to ATC and mention it are they going to report it? Should
I talk to fligh****ch or the nearest FSS? What sort of things would be
useful to note about a fire, besides its location?


I reported a truck fire when I was on my long XC solo when I was working
on my PPL a few years back. It was on an isolated stretch of freeway
(lots of traffic but no place nearby for people to call from) and I was
very familiar with the territory, and had a previous 10 year stint as a
firefighter.

I notified unicom of the field 5 miles away of the location (in this
case, road, cross street and direction of travel, as well as the fact
that this clearly was a commercial vehicle (box van). This was pertinent
as many fire depts consider large vehicles or commercial (possibly haz
mat) vehicles an upgraded response compared to your typical car-be-cue.

To answer your question:
If you know it, the County or jurisdiction it is in. As precise of a
location as you can. If you know the roads somewhere from the air, use
them for reference. If there is a field nearby with an attended unicom,
this may actually be a better first point of reference.

A local field is likely to be able to call 911(if its available) and get
the correct agency on the first call, or have the correct numbers
readily available. FSS will have to so SOME searching to get the proper
agency's number, and maybe have to call a few different ones to get
close. If I tell ATC it will not be an "oh by the way" it will be a
"please report this" kinda call.

Things that are important are size (if you can safely or accurately
estimate), the presence of "exposures" (threatened structures) or the
presence of threatened persons (in cars?) on the ground. Best estimate
of wind direction may be of use depending on the sophistication of the
fire service that responds, but the more sophisticated ones will draw
their own conclusions on arrival.

Dave