Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Fire Fighting, Alaska Style

We barely got the door open on the trailer at Harding Lake State Recreation Area when we realized we were clearly in the approach pattern  for some relatively large aircraft. Finding the right position for pictures took a bit but we finally found 3 aircraft operating 10 minute turns.

Alberta's three CL-215T aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprops operated all afternoon

approaching Harding Lake,

scooping up over 11,000 pounds of water,

and hauling it off to drop on the Stuart Creek fire.

In the evening, the wind shifted and CL-215 aircraft powered by R2800 radial engines started departing right over the campsite. Round engines - the sound of music!

As I write this post our hearts go out to family and friends of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona on Sunday.

4 comments:

  1. Would love to have seen that. Hope you got some sleep:-)

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    1. We did! They quit about 11 p.m. and hadn't started up when we left the next morning.

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  2. I followed the Yarnell news with sadness. For you it must hit closer to home.

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    1. It was close to home. The emergency services community is pretty small and it hurts when we lose even one.

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