Ontario joins Wisconsin in wildfire readiness
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The forest firefighters and dispatchers stood in a small group at the edge of the airport taxiway, all of them looking north, scanning a cloudless blue sky.
The portable radio held by Jim Barnier, a forest fire suppression specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources, squawked to life. The Canadians had spotted the runway at Chippewa Valley Regional Airport just north of Eau Claire.
This was a joint wildfire exercise, a mutual aid drill involving fire suppression aircraft from Ontario. First to appear, coming in fast at 300 feet, was an Aero Commander 500, a light, twin-engine aircraft Barnier called the “Bird Dog.”
The Bird Dog runs surveillance, checks wind direction and velocity, makes sure the air space is clear for the CL 415 Water Bomber that was following.
That frees the pilot of the CL 415, which never goes on a mission alone, to concentrate on other things-- like breath-taking, low-altitude acrobatics in a plane that looks like a giant yellow bus with chunky wings and a stubby tail that is carrying 5 tons of water in its enormous belly.
The bomber came in low and when its four drop doors opened, a giant white cloud shot out, instantly many times larger than the aircraft. The vapor cloud stretched out far behind the plane and seemed to hang weightless for a moment before it suddenly faded and the grass field below was soaked by 1,620 gallons of water.
CL 415 Water Bomber
A CL 415 Water Bomber dropping a load of water
WDNR Photo
Then, amazingly, the bomber banked in a sharp, 90-degree turn and headed toward the tree line to the west, flying at about 100 feet, and when it cleared the trees and suddenly dropped from view, down into what everyone knew was the Chippewa River valley, there was a collective gasp from the onlookers.
“These guys love rivers,” Ontario air attack officer Dennis Gilhooly would later say, by way of explanation.
Twelve seconds later it appeared again, climbing swiftly and banking sharply to the right, as agile as a sparrow, only this sparrow now weighed 47,000 pounds, having skimmed across the surface of the river at 100 mph with two cup-shaped scoops taking in water at extreme velocities.
It made another run, dropped another cloud of water and went back for more. In this manner, by taking advantage of a nearby river, the bomber crew could drop a load, refill and return to make another drop in 1 minute and 35 seconds.
This kind of performance can come in real handy if there is a wildfire racing through the crowns of a pine forest threatening life and property. But although the demonstration was exciting, and witnessing the plane’s capabilities was useful, the water drops were not the primary purpose here.
“This was not a suppression exercise,” Barnier said. “It was a process exercise.”
DNR fire dispatcher Beth Bartol
DNR fire dispatcher Beth Bartol examines the CL 415 cockpit.
WDNR Photo
Wisconsin, along with Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario and Manitoba, is a member of the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact. That means, for one, it helps the states and provinces cut training costs. If each member has two or three new firefighters in need of a course, they all join together for the training.
In times of emergency, it is a mutual aid compact. When wildfires rage north of the international border, Ontario picks up the phone.
“We send crews and engines north when they need help,” Barnier said.
Wisconsin does not own fire suppression aircraft. During the fire season, the DNR leases four single-engine air tankers (SEATs) and positions them where the danger is highest. These planes must land to reload, however. Effective on small “initiating” forest fires, their value is limited in a rapidly expanding “project” fire.
Minnesota maintains two CL 215 air bombers, precursors to the 415s, and these might be available, but east-west weather patterns being what they are, Minnesota may find itself needing its planes just when Wisconsin is ringing alarms.
CL 415 Water Bomber
CL 415 Water Bomber
WDNR Photo
Or it could happen that Ontario has CL 415s stationed at Sault St. Marie, and these planes could reach Marinette County, for instance, in far less time than their Minnesota counterparts. Ontario maintains nine of the more powerful planes.
This August exercise was about working out the details of an international water bomber flight. Both nations take border security seriously and agreements had to be worked out to allow Canadian bomber crews to land in Wisconsin and refuel without a customs inspection.
And then there is the watchful eye of Homeland Security. If an unscheduled flight crosses the U.S. border, the Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC) is likely to scramble F-16s. Air traffic control at commercial airports would join the alarm.
“If we want them in the air in five minutes, they won’t have time to file a flight plan,” Barnier said of the Ontario flight crews.
Although CL 415s have radio transponders that would identify them to military pilots as “natural resource” aircraft, this is not a failsafe anyone wants to test unnecessarily. Forest fire specialists in Ontario and Wisconsin have been working out the details of permission and notification for two years.
“Like any plan, you have to test it to see if it is operationally worthy,” Barnier said. “During an emergency is not the time to see if it works.”
FOR INFORMATION: James Barnier, DNR forest fire suppression specialist, 608-253-6714
