Firefighters train in reloading planes

Plane drops water in Rector practice run [Click to enlarge]

Area volunteer firefighters got valuable training Wednesday, March 3, in reloading water into the holding tank of a plane which helps fight wildfires all over Arkansas.

Rector and Marmaduke firemen were among a group of about 15 who gathered at the Rector Municipal Airport for the training, conducted by Arkansas Forestry Commission personnel in preparation for the spring 2010 fire season.

Demonstrations also were held last Wednesday at Jonesboro, Paragould and Newport.

The 802 single engine air tankers (SEATS) used by the Forestry Commission are stationed at Harrison, Hot Springs and Batesville airports and provided by Western Pilot Service. Each plane can carry up to 800 gallons of water. The planes are used in addition to the efforts of firefighters on the ground to contain wildfires.

The demonstration here began when a Rector tanker truck pulled to within feet of the plane and the hose stretched to connect to valves mounted on the bottom of the plane. Because the water adds significant weight to the plane and Rector has a short runway, the plane took on only 500 gallons for the Rector training session.

Pilot Wayne Reynolds carefully watched a gauge inside the plane and signaled Rector firefighter Nathan Mills to shut off the valve when the plane reached the 500 gallon mark.

Reynolds flew two drop demonstrations over the Rector runway, releasing the entire 500 gallons in 1.5 seconds in the first run and releasing the water more slowly in the second run.

In a talk prior to the training session, AFC fire management officer Mark Reed told the group wildfires are expected to be more numerous and more intense due in Arkansas for a while due to the large amount of debris which remains after a devastating ice storm in parts of Arkansas in late January 2009.

At the time of the visit last week, 26 loads of water had been dropped on fires in Arkansas since the planes were put into service Feb. 1.

With a forecast for warmer sunny weather over the weekend, Forestry Commission public affairs coordinator Christina Fowler said last week it was likely the planes would be called into service as people began spring clearing of unwanted debris. The prediction was correct.

AFC personnel responded over the weekend to 128 fires that burned 3,123 acres. The single engine air tankers made 42 water drops across Arkansas Saturday and Sunday. County Judges in Faulkner, Greene and Van Buren counties have issued burn bans, and more than two-thirds of the state is experiencing moderate wildfire danger conditions.

"Our crews were at their limits," said Marc Phillips, District 8 Forester. AFC District 8 covers Fulton, Independence, Izard, Lawrence, Randolph and Sharp counties.

According to Phillips, a number of landowners were taking advantage of the nice weather to conduct burns on their property to clear away unwanted debris when winds shifted. "The sheer volume of burning going on increased the chances a fire could get out," Phillips said.

District 8 covers six of 30 counties with an increased wildfire hazard as a result of the January 2009 ice storm. Phillips said the amount of debris on the ground and limbs hanging in trees has made constructing fire lanes more difficult. "It can double or triple the time to get a line around the fire," he said.

"We anticipate suppression issues over the next couple of years," Don McBride, Assistant State Forester-Protection, said regarding the increased hazards in ice storm damaged areas.

AFC has been awarded an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant through the U.S. Forest Service for wildfire hazard reduction on property in Arkansas impacted by the ice storm of January 2009. Four hundred thousand of the $3.6 million grant will be used to provide increased aerial wildfire suppression.

Those who want more information about current wildfire conditions in Arkansas may visit www.arkfireinfo.org. To report a wildfire, call 1-800-468-8834.

For information about how ARRA funds are being used in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Office of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act web site at www.recovery.arkansas.gov.