Wildfires Continue to Ravage Colorado, Taking Toll on Life and Property
How Aviation Helps in Defeating These Blazing Catastrophes
Homes Have Been Destroyed
CO – The seasonally dry conditions and high temperatures of 2024 drive what many call a wildfire catastrophe. With thousands of acres of wildland at stake, controlling the situation is of top concern to the state. Areas centered around Boulder and many outlying counties are being affected by these dangerous spreading fires. Homes have been destroyed, and fatalities have been recorded as the fires rage on. However, with about one-fourth of the fires contained, there is optimism that things will improve.
Assist With Logistics
Gov. Jared Polis has activated the Colorado National Guard to help manage the spread of fires. This is the first National Guard call-up for a wildfire since the last big spread, the Marshall Fire. Polis remarked in a briefing Wednesday afternoon that guard members are expected to assist with logistics, road closures, and a variety of proactive fire-containment tasks that will help free up emergency response officials and firefighters’ resources.
Getting the Fires Under Control
The Governor declared disaster emergencies for a series of wildfires, which put into motion a state emergency operations plan. The plan directed officials across the state to “take all necessary and appropriate actions to assist with response, recovery and mitigation efforts” in the wildfires. With homes and businesses at risk, controlling the flames is a top priority among state officials. But exactly what causes wildfires to begin in the first place?
Lightning Strikes
Wildfires are typically the result of a series of natural phenomena often triggered by several environmental and human factors. The flames’ ignition and subsequent spread involve various conditions and processes that interact in intricate ways. Wildfires most often begin through either natural or human actions. Natural causes can include lightning strikes, which comprise many wildfire ignitions. Lightning delivers the required high heat for igniting dry vegetation.
Intentionally Destructive Acts of Criminal Arson
Unfortunately, human activities are also a big contributor to wildfire ignitions. These can include campfires that are not properly terminated or secured, discarded cigarettes, the operation of equipment that generates sparks, and intentionally destructive acts of criminal arson. Although less common, power lines and other infrastructure failures can also start wildfires, especially in dry and windy regions. Even volcanic activity can trigger a wildfire.
Conditions for Ignition
Three core elements are needed for a wildfire to ignite: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Fuel consists of any flammable natural material, such as grass, trees, and brush. Heat comes from various sources, like lightning and campfires. Oxygen is abundant in our air, providing the final component for inevitable combustion.
Spread
Once flames are ignited, the spread of a wildfire is driven by several main factors:
- Fuel: The type, moisture level, and spacing of vegetation play a big part in the spread of a forest fire. Dry, fine fuels like grass and pine needles ignite and burn faster than moist, dense materials.
- Weather: Weather is vital to wildfire behavior. Wind velocity and direction rapidly advance a fire, delivering flames and embers across vast areas. Hot temperatures and low humidity dry out vegetation, making it highly susceptible to ignition and sustained combustion.
- Topography: Terrain features, like slope and composition, influence fire propagation. Wildfires usually move faster uphill because the vegetation above the flames preheats. Canyons and valleys funnel winds, adding to fire intensity and the rate of spread.
- Fire Behavior: Wildfires have unique behaviors, including surface fires that burn quickly across the ground, while “crown fires” leap across the forest canopy. When embers are carried by the wind, they start new fires ahead of the main blaze, leading to rapid and unpredictable multiplied spreading.
Yampa Airport
Now that we understand what starts and then drives a spreading wildfire, we can look at how aviation and its use in fire suppression and containment works. Airborne firefighting saves lives and property throughout Colorado and the country. For example, in the state, officials are deploying the Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk. This heavy-duty rotor wing can lift 9,000 pounds of firefighting suppressant or water for aerial drops. It is stationed at Yampa Airport and is always on-call for statewide emergencies, especially wildfires.
Targeted Water Drops
Powered by two powerful and reliable engines, this helicopter’s tank is removable depending on the mission and the need for bucket use. The helicopter can efficiently conduct targeted water drops on raging flames, especially where difficult terrain makes it almost impossible for ground firefighting crews to do their job. The helicopter is an incredibly useful resource in terms of flame-fighting tools.
Damage and Threats to Life
The Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) and its chief, Vaughn Jones, are utilizing air power smartly and effectively to reduce the damage and threat to life caused by unwanted wildfires. Aggressive first response minimizes fires’ duration, costs, and overall impacts. The DFPC said in a news release that it considers the UH-60A “one of the best aerial firefighting helicopters available.”
Pawnee National Grassland
In addition, the USDA Forest Service’s Jeffco Airtanker Base (Jeffco) is in Broomfield, Colo., at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and is managed by the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (ARP). The Jeffco mission is to provide expert aerial fire-fighting support for ground firefighting crews.
2,500-Gallon Drops
Resources at the air tanker facility include retardant storage tanks, filling capabilities, pilots and crewmember accommodations, and management offices. This robust facility can easily mix 190,000 gallons of retardant per operation, equaling several 2,500-gallon drops. The airfield supports many aircraft types, including smaller single-engine aircraft tankers, larger heavy air tankers, and lead rotor-wing and fixed-wing aircraft.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport
The Jeffco Air Tanker Base was founded in the 1980s in Broomfield. The facility is named in honor of the Jefferson County General Aviation facility that was its home. Then, in 2006, the airfield was renamed the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, yet the air tanker facility name still maintains the Jeffco namesake.
How it All Works
Aerial fire suppression employs aircraft and helicopters to target and stop wildfires, providing a critical resource for firefighters in better managing and containing runaway blazes. The effort mainly utilizes fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and other unique equipment and tools to deploy water, fire retardants, or flame suppressants directly onto wildfires or in calculated key locations to construct highly effective firebreaks.
Aircraft Types
Fixed-wing aircraft, such as air tankers, are armed with massive tanks that hold water or fire retardant. They can traverse large spreading fires quickly, making them perfect for delivering large payloads over the entire fire front. These aircraft drop loads in carefully synchronized runs, establishing barriers that effectively slow the spread of flames.
Helicopters
Equally impressive, helicopters can provide even more precision in aerial fire suppression operations. They, too, are equipped with buckets or tanks filled with water or suppression fluids and fire-retardant chemicals. Helicopters are unique because they can loiter in place and then release their payloads with remarkable accuracy, making them ideal for targeting troublesome hotspots and protecting vital assets and manmade structures.
Success and Effectiveness
Aerial fire suppression in the initial stages of a wildfire is crucial to stopping the rapid spread of flames. Quick response from the air slows the fire’s advancement, allowing ground crews to build control lines needed to protect communities. Reaching remote or inaccessible areas by air makes in-flight suppression invaluable in rugged terrain where ground crews cannot gain access.
Risks and Challenges
Even with its effectiveness, aerial firefighting has significant inherent risks. Flying low and slow over fires and flames exposes pilots to hazardous conditions, including extreme heat, choking smoke, and unpredictable air mass movement. Rugged and often mountainous terrain further complicates flight operations, increasing the danger of loss-of-control crashes.
Modern Aerial Firefighting
In conclusion, aerial fire suppression using aircraft and helicopters is a powerful and necessary component of modern firefighting, offering speed, agility, and reach that ground crews alone would otherwise not have. However, the inherent risks and flight operation-related challenges demand expert management to ensure the safety and effectiveness of fighting fires from the sky. Colorado greatly benefits from modern aerial firefighting efforts during the 2024 fire season.