I used to fight wildfires and as a result I worked with and around a lot of cool aircraft. I felt it would be nice to share a few of the cool photos I got. I even got to talk on the radio with the pilots or the airtac (think the fires own air traffic controller) to direct drops. I didn’t get many photos due to working an active fire or running away from the drop zone to avoid getting hurt. These few were taken from safety zones. I hope you all enjoy them and feel free to share your own photos and or stories of fire aviation!
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Wow! The last photo is phenomenal!
I bet it must have been amazing to watch that fly past!
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Love the last one
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It was so cool, sadly it was the only drop they did on that fire. A drone was spotted by the pilot and he called off the second plane and further drops. Do not blame him at all though.
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Also that plane was from Neptune Aviation based at KMSO (Missoula Montana)
True, but I think safety comes before a drone, but yeah the aircraft would have to be at a safe distance from the drone 🙄
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Thankfully that fire at the point was nearing control and the lack of the planes didn’t hinder our efforts.
Ahhh good :)
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Yeah and my crew saved a dozen or so houses. It was a good day in the office 😂 I do miss it. Sadly my back went out on me after last summer.
I think the drone was the safety concern there…
Sorry for not clarifying better, all. Yes the drone was the concern since it was a civilian drone. It is policy in the US on wildfire with federally managed resources, which most of all aviation is, to ground all aviation if a civilian drone is in the fire area. Fire managers are using drones more and more to do missions like mapping and scouting, but the drone operators in these cases are in direct contact with Airtac and other air resources, thus it is allowed to fly.
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I think the next sentence is helpful 😁
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nice pictures, I have a question, its a training or they’re really fighting the fire…?
All these photos were taken on actual wildfires.
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