Fire

[madhatte]

Today's fire was started by a stolen car burned to hide evidence.

Once again, animal trails escape burning due to minor compaction:

Send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send you one when I have some time

Sent.

Also: uggh, the media

 

[2dogs]

I got in a fight with the higher-ups over this earlier this season. I wanted my tender crews to either use their water, fill everybody, or dump it before traveling; higher-ups wanted water available, however little. I argued operator safety, they argued slow down. We'll see how it goes. We did lose a tender in 2008 to a roll-over accident. No injuries, thankfully, but the truck was a total loss. I'm not inclined to value water over lives.

Nate you need tender balls too.

 

[madhatte]

Nate you need tender balls too.

You're probably right; I feel like this is a fight for the off-season, though.

 

[tramp bushler]

on the Tetlin Hills fire this summer the contract tender went off edge of a switch back backwards. It stalled for some reason going up . For some reason the driver couldnt hold it on the hill so she bailed out . It is a real steep road in some places. It was an old 6×6 International with a gas engine and air brakes. . it tumbled and rolled down into a draw for about 200 yards . Dont think that tanker will be on anymore fires . The driver was uninjured. . She had made the trip up loaded several times so she knew how to drive it and the truck could do it.
Maybe it got some bad fuel or a plugged up filter?

 

[tramp bushler]

I dont have any pics of it yet. My fon was full.

 

[BeatCJ]

Never had anything like that happen. All 4 of our tenders have diesels and Allison's, now. We do have one with a Detroit that has run backwards a couple of times, though. So far it stopped when you pull the stop knob.

We didn't send our tenders out when they were Korean vintage Deuces. It's a cryin' shame, there are only 3 of us left that can remember driving them. Even now, we only send our Pete's with Cat engines. Not as comfy as our Type 5/6s, but good enough. Just had to have the A/C serviced, turns out most of our problem was 24 years of candy wrappers into the air box. Evidently the intake for the A/C is under the dash, passenger side feet right next to the firewall. So many years of throwing candy in our local parade must have took it's toll.

I enjoy tender duty now and then. A steady diet of it would be boring, but for a week or so, I'm good. I suspect that if I could keep busy, it would be OK for longer.

 

[2dogs]

You're probably right; I feel like this is a fight for the off-season, though.

I've seen baffle balls around $8.00 each. 100 balls for a 1000 gallon tactical tender. I drove a 4000 gallon tender for a couple of years that was well baffled. Still if I hit the maxis and jumped out it could lift a tire from the sloshing. Most of my time was either delivering drinking water or pumping in to well drilling operations.

 

[catbuster]

I've seen baffle balls around $8.00 each. 100 balls for a 1000 gallon tactical tender. I drove a 4000 gallon tender for a couple of years that was well baffled. Still if I hit the maxis and jumped out it could lift a tire from the sloshing. Most of my time was either delivering drinking water or pumping in to well drilling operations.

Chief OK'd the Gempler's balls. We will see how they work. Do they attach together or just float in the tank? If they just float in the tank I'll lose them all every time I dump into a dump tank.

 

[2dogs]

They are just small enough to fit in the man hole on the top of the tank. If you have a 12" square dump valve then no problem.

 

[2dogs]

A USFS firefighter from SD was killed on a fire in California. Dangerous work people.
http://wildfiretoday.com/2015/07/31...led-while-responding-to-a-fire-in-california/

 

[madhatte]

I've seen baffle balls around $8.00 each. 100 balls for a 1000 gallon tactical tender. I drove a 4000 gallon tender for a couple of years that was well baffled. Still if I hit the maxis and jumped out it could lift a tire from the sloshing. Most of my time was either delivering drinking water or pumping in to well drilling operations.

We had the rotten old shims between bed and frame on one of our tenders let loose on a fire last week; the bed, and 1000 gallons attached to it shifted and hung on by the U-bolts. I wonder if the balls would have helped there?

As for today's fatality, I will be awaiting the incident report. News is very basic as of yet and I will be interested so see what lessons there are to be learned.

 

[catbuster]

We had the rotten old shims between bed and frame on one of our tenders let loose on a fire last week; the bed, and 1000 gallons attached to it shifted and hung on by the U-bolts. I wonder if the balls would have helped there?

Unless the balls can prevent all sloshing, those shims would have eventually let go anyway. That sounds like a PMs fix, IMO.

 

[madhatte]

Fire... on a golf course. We kept it to 4 acres through judicious use of burnouts. I never thought I'd burn out a golf course. The course staff have been super appreciative and even brought us sandwiches last night. This was a straightforward ignition and mopup operation; the toughest part of it, as IC, has been dealing with the public. During sizeup I had to chase off a bunch of angry golfers who were too stupid to get out of the way of a wildfire, and who threw golf balls at us as they left, and all the calls from dispatch and the base regarding the smoke across the freeway. I watched the traffic jam with little interest until it was time to fill the tender back up. Yeah, the turn-around time was impacted a little.





I think this is where it started. My theory is that a golfer stepped off into the woods to take a leak, and dropped a lit cigar. It smoldered overnight, and blew up when the afternoon sun hit the hot spot.



Containment by sprinkler?

 

[Gologit]

63 dozers and 43 water tenders. They'd have more but there aren't any available.

http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=1161

 

[madhatte]

Whoah, 63 dozers is a lot.

 

[tramp bushler]

327 fire engines and 83 fire crews.
over 3,000 people on that fire. WOW !!!

 

[tramp bushler]

68,000 acres. thats a big area .

 

[tramp bushler]

87 crews . Mis read it the first time.

 

[Gologit]

It's mostly buck-brush with a lot of dry grass and scrub oak. A lot of people built houses, whole subdivions sometimes, surrounded by that crap. I don't know why. The buck-brush is usually higher than your head and thick enough to be inpenetrable by people on foot. Pure fuel, especially after four years of drought.
Lots of narrow winding roads, poor access for equipment, slick rock under the vegetation, short steep ground, and scant water sources except for Clear Lake.
They're using the VLATs whenever they can get them.

 

[tramp bushler]

I watched The Dozer Boss series of you tube vids. that short steep ground with rock uner it would be a real pita to push a line with. Would definately want some dozers around with a winch on them.